KP:Four Seasons: Summer
by noncynic
Summary: The summer begins badly, and doesn't get much better, as both Kim's life, her reputation, and then the whole human race are endangered. 7-8-10: Rewrote and reposted chapters 37-40
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters form Kim Possible, or any other programs I may reference In this story.

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It wasn't the way Shego normally went about such things. Entering the gallery while it was technically still open, with lights on and at least two employees lurking about somewhere. But then, she wasn't planning on committing any real crimes tonight, though there was a slight chance of some vandalism occurring.

The Gallery wasn't showing anything of high value, just a large collection of photographs by a semi-famous local celebrity. The only thing that interested the Green-and-black clad thief was the possibility that one of those photos would have her as it's primary subject. If that particular one was on display, then the aforementioned vandalism, and possibly some grievous bodily harm would soon ensue.

In truth, the whole thing was also a diversion from some highly uncomfortable introspection that Shego had been going through lately. The fact that she had been spending so much time in her hometown lately was also highly uncharacteristic. And for different reasons, her two most recent visits had left her sense of self badly shaken.

Most significant in her recent musings was the recognition that a lot of her emotions had for some time been manufactured by her mind to suit a situation where she knew them to be appropriate, but were not actually _felt _by her. As if for some reason her mind could easily indulge in some emotions, but others it refused to feel. Such as guilt. And events barely a week previously had given her every reason to feel guilty, even if the subject of those feelings should previously have generated only contempt and resentment from her.

Kim Possible. Ironically, she had finally seen something in the teen heroine's eyes that she had always hoped to see, fear, in fact abject terror, of Shego herself. But the circumstances under which this had occurred only generated feelings of extreme revulsion in Shego's own mind, mostly because she had not had any control over said mind at the time. She had taken a series of actions that had caused the heroine a great deal of pain, actions motivated by Shego's own selfish desire to avenge a friend's death, without aid from Kim Possible or anyone else.

Shego knew that not long before, no guilt would have been likely, she would simply say that Possible should have minded her own business and stayed out of Shego's affairs, and she got what she deserved for butting in. Even if there was far more at stake then just one person's vengeance, and others were already involved. Once she had heard what was going on, there was no way the girl would have stayed out of it, and Shego had eventually not seen any point in trying to dissuade her.

But in a big way, Possible had ended up where she was while trying to help Shego get to the heart of the matter. She deliberately placed herself in the hands of some terrible people so Shego could follow her to their current place of operations, bringing the cavalry along to make sure none escaped.

But Shego had not brought the cavalry, but came alone to get her revenge. She had neglected Kim's plight while she went through the villain's records, seeking answers as to why her friend had been their victim. And what she found there had only filled her with a black rage that brought her into a direct confrontation with the main villain, who had promptly turned that rage against her, and against a helpless Kim Possible.

And she _felt_ no guilt over it, even though, despite her Self-assumed status as a hard core villain and evil person, she intellectually _knew_ that she should feel it. So she felt it, and then realized she truly didn't, and began to wonder, what if that comet/meteor had done more than give her powers? What if it had somehow rewired her emotionally, and worse, in a manner she secretly desired.

Lately it had been harder to dismiss memories of her pre-comet persona as simply being a childish girl who had yet to learn the realities of life. She had cared about others, and deeply. She had been snarky, true, and a bit too adventurous to boot, for certain strict persons, but she had had a heart. And now it was missing in action. And she was having more difficulties dealing with the aftermath of emotional events, as something began to insistently tell her that there was something _wrong_ with the way she was acting. In fact, that a lot of her personality _was_ just acting, because she couldn't truly feel the emotions that should be there.

And so, never having had much patience for self-analysis, and with no work worth her time available, she had welcomed as a diversion the tip from an acquaintance that a certain indiscretion from her past might now be on public display.

Now she prowled through the still lit gallery, senses tuned to pick up any sign that any other patrons had escaped the just-finished sweep by the manager and his main assistant, who Shego believed had then retired to the offices for some reason, most likely an urgent need for privacy. At least, the way they seemed incapable of keeping their hands off each other while headed there certainly implied she would not have to worry about them for a bit. And they had been kind enough not to properly secure the side entrance before departing to their assignation.

With all her years of experience and finely tuned senses on alert, It was a considerable surprise when she rounded a corner and found herself facing the last people she expected to take her by surprise.

"Shego?"

"Sis?"

"SHEGO!"(in stereo)

Jaw dropping in shock, Shego beheld her four 'siblings', the costumed heroes of Team Go, staring back at her in surprise. "_How could those four have been quiet long enough for me to run into them?" _Then, her survival instincts kicked in.

Shego dropped into a fighter's crouch and began to quickly scan her surroundings for any sign of a trap. She noted that Mego and at least one of the Wegos took their cue from her, and also tensed up. But to her surprise, while Hego also took a defensive stance, he directed his attention at _her! "Isn't that a fine how-do-you-do! Well, can't really blame the big doof, with the way I've been portrayed in the news lately!"_

But just as those thoughts processed themselves in her mind, a familiar voice, one belonging to a recent acquaintance she hadn't expected to meet again, and really didn't care to since it connected strongly with her recent musings, called out from behind her, causing her to see that two women leaned against a wall to her right rear, which as luck would have it, would have been the last area she covered with her scan.

"Don't worry, Shego, Gentlemen, no supervillains springing a trap on you, this time!" Said the slightly cheerful voice. "And no Law Enforcement officers about, either." She added for Shego's benefit. The only good sign that Shego saw was that the two women were not dressed for 'business'. No visible weapons, or even body armor, to be seen.

Jen Paladin was to the left, her six foot, two inches leaning against the wall behind her in a manner that implied tension, and readiness to move suddenly, rather the relaxation. Dark brown hair framed a strong, if attractive, face, currently watching Shego with an annoyingly impassive look. She wore black jeans and a black T-shirt with a white chess knight emblem on the left breast, finished off with a pair of businesslike black leather boots with the jeans tucked into them, to complete her somber look.

Her partner, and lover, had a much more cheerful look. A full foot shorter, Samantha McCarron could be believed at first glance to having more muscle packed onto her shorter frame, but that was deceptive, as both women were well-muscled, with Jen simply being a bit sleeker in the distribution of same. Sam was wearing sneakers, blue jeans, and a blue T-shirt with the legend 'Trust me, she's not as chilly as she looks' imprinted on it's front. It also had an arrow pointing to her right, suggesting her position in reference to her partner was deliberate.

Sam, at least, was smiling, though that expression annoyed Shego too. As far as she was concerned, they should both be viewing her with contempt. Though that in turn would just be giving her an excuse to dismiss them as just two more people who just didn't 'understand' her. And certainly did not deserve her attention. As she tried to sort through her own feelings about how she really wanted them to act towards her, Hego broke her train of thought by talking. Warning came as he took a noble stance, and drew in a deep breath before speaking.

"Just why have you lured us her, if not for some nefarious purpose?" In truth, as Hego spoke it, all words should rightfully have been capitalized and possibly written in bold face, but why indulge him?

As Shego, Mego, and the twins rolled their eyes in unison, Sam replied. "Actually, we just sent a message to you, requesting your presence, and promising that there was nothing dangerous that you would have to face, just someone with information important to you." She then looked at Shego, "And your reason for being here is also legitimate" At that, while pretending to wipe something under her eye with her thumb, she flashed Shego three fingers.

Momentarily confused, Shego suddenly got the message and casually looked over her right shoulder, her 'three o'clock'. What she saw took all her self control not to react to, for fear of drawing her four brothers' attention to it. "_OK, death is too good for him, hanging _that_ in public, I think a slow, layer by layer excision of his skin with my claws should just about do it. Well, to start with, anyway." _

"As to the 'why' of this invitation, we were hired to arrange this meeting by a client. Though at the moment she's somewhat indisposed, she should join us shortly." Sam paused, thinking over her next words. "She has some serious health problems, but insisted on going through with this meeting. Until she can join us, which should hopefully not be long, we'll have to find something else to talk about." At those words, her partner gave her a 'you just stepped in it' glance and stood a little straighter.

Shego also saw the danger in that suggestion, and hoped that whoever their client was, they'd make an immediate appearance, but it was not to be. Again she heard Hego take in a deep breath, let some of it out in a sigh, and speak.

"If that is the case, Dear Sister, then I would like you to explain your involvement in the scandalous events which even now threaten to destroy the publics' trust in the government of our fair city." The tone could not have been better chosen to grate on Shegos' nerves if it had been his intent to do so, which it most certainly had not been, since, though lacking great intellect, Hego had no shortage of self preservation instincts when it came to Shego, and no desire to set her off.

Trying to defuse the situation to some extent, Mego quickly spoke up. "It's a fair question, Sis. We've all seen that bit of video on the news, unless you can say that was someone impersonating you in it?" The last had a tiny bit of forlorn hope in it, both that Shego could deny it, and that she was not about to go postal on them. Shego, though, was looking at the Wegos. _"They saw it? Damn! How could Hego and Mego...yeah, like they could have prevented it, Shego!"_

"Of course it wasn't an impostor, unless said impostor also has her Go Glow. It clearly flared up just as the clip cut off." Hego pronounced, with his usual righteous pomposity.

"That could have been special effects added by the guy who shot the video" one of the Wegos interjected, " I mean, the whole thing was just so blurry, real amateurish."

"It was clear enough for me!" Hego responded, "Clear enough to recognize our sister, not wearing a stitch, and parading in front of that poor girl, who I'm sure was not the real Kim Possible, since certainly _she_ would never let herself appear in such a state of undress before a group of people of obviously disreputable taste!"

"Like it was her choice?" Mego fired back, "From what I saw, she was obviously their prisoner, and was err, tied to that wall, while 'Shego' appeared to menace her, which is why I'm sure it wasn't really our sister at all in that picture!" The last came out in a rush, again seemingly asking for Shego to deny the whole mess.

Shego shook her head angrily, then shot down Mego's hopes with a snarl, "It was me, all right!" She focused on Mego, who flinched, "And Kim wasn't tied to the wall, or shackled, or chained, Mego, she was _Nailed_ to it!" At which point a wave of nausea made her head swim, both from the vehemence with which she spoke, and the feelings that came surging up with the memory.

Stunned silence followed this pronouncement, as Mego and Hego both paled considerably, while the twins' faces took on a look Shego knew all to well, and she hoped they had as much luck keeping their dinner down as she was at that moment. It had to be Hego who broke the silence. " You mean she was...uhm, err..." he asked haltingly.

Shego grimaced as she tried controlling her temper. "The word, big brother, is '_Crucified', _and yes, that's exactly what that bastard Macheles did to her."

"Language, sister." This came out far quieter then usual for Hego, as his mind tried to wrap itself around the facts Shego had spat out.

"And do you want to know what's even worse? Or maybe it won't be that bad, since it will reinforce your beliefs about me? _IT WAS ALL MY FAULT!' _Shego roared out, then had to stop and make a physical effort to keep her bile down. Her brothers simply stood looking as if she had just killed Bambi before their eyes.

Regaining her composure enough to continue, Shego continued, looking at the floor to avoid their eyes. "If I had done things the way I'd agreed to, she would never have been hurt like that. If I hadn't so badly underestimated that bastard, If I had known he had _powers_..."

As she trailed off, Mego tried to fill the void. "Yeah, that's what all those people who were at that 'show' are trying to say, he controlled their minds and made them attend it..." Only to set Shego off again.

"_Well, they're lying through their Teeth!"_ Shego shouted, "He could only manipulate strong emotions, not compel people to do things against their wills! They were at those 'shows' to see exactly what they saw, he may have made them enjoy it more then they normally would, but he did not _make_ them attend. Those people deserve to lose their jobs, and most certainly deserve to lose the peoples 'trust'!" The last was directed at Hego, who flinched, "They liked watching people being humiliated, and hurt, for their entertainment!"

"The problem with that, from our point of view, is those people in the audience are mostly connected to our Mayor, who is basically the guy who makes Team Go possible." Mego responded. "And with the election this year, a new Mayor who doesn't think Go City needs it's own superhero team could take office and stop any city funding for our activities."

"Well, here I thought you guys were bailing on the hero thing, and leaving Hego on his own with it?" Shego spoke as calmly as she could, trying to get her emotions back under control, her own control, in this case. "_Damn Macheles, I hope he is slowly roasting in whatever hell Jen Paladin sent him to, turning all my rage into lust, and then directing it at Kim."_ What she had almost done to the girl went through her mind once again, and again her bile rose, forcing her to close her mouth and make an effort to control it, paying little attention to Mego's response.

"Well, we hadn't entirely abandoned the hero thing, I mean, we do have the powers, and whatever responsibility goes with them." The finish was a little lame, as if he regretted acknowledging Hego's most common argument for the formation of their team in the first place.

"Well, if you want to do it badly enough, you don't need the City's help. You don't need Go Tower, or the Go Jet, or any of that to do good." Shego's mouth suddenly snapped shut as she realized what she was saying. Her brothers collectively looked mildly shocked as well.

"Of course," she tried to recover, " I always thought the 'being good' thing was the wrong way to go, anyways."

"Always, Shego?" The sound of a new and unfamiliar voice caused Shego to turn, and see that the mysterious 'client' had walked in, and actually looked vaguely familiar. _"But what I remember doesn't match her current appearance, she looks to be in bad shape!"_

Harsh, but true. The woman who carefully walked towards one of the padded benches along the walls of the gallery definitely appeared to have the 'health problems' Sam McCarron had spoke of earlier. Thin and pale, with a knit cap pulled down to her ears over an obviously bald head, she could have been easily mistaken for an elderly woman, but something in Shego's subconscious insisted she had seen this woman quite recently, hale and healthy, and no older then her forties.

As she seated herself, the woman looked straight at Shego, and saw the uncertain recognition in her eyes. She nodded. "Yes, we've met, though never been formally introduced, Shego. A couple of times, I passed you in the halls, but once we met in Jack's office."

The light dawned, and Shego looked more curious now then anything. "At Henchco? Yes, I think I remember you, in a white lab coat each time I saw you, right?"

"That's correct, I worked in Henchco's scientific research Department, Found Properties Division."

"Found Properties?" A small smirk appeared on Shego's face.

"Err, yes, those Items acquired by Henchco without the original operating instructions, so to speak. For instance, the Attitudinator, or Reverse Polarizer, whichever you prefer. We never did figure that one out completely."

"You didn't know how the thing worked?" Shego was mildly incredulous.

"Oh, no, never. Mind you, we knew what it 'appeared' to do to people, and Jack marketed it accordingly. With the appropriate warning labels, in near microscopic print, disclaiming any responsibility if Henchco's analysis of the machine's function was in any way incorrect. However, what is important to our discussion tonight is this, In order to learn how it worked, I installed certain monitoring equipment which sent telemetry back to my lab any time the device was used on someone, recording the effect and their brainwaves, emotions, etc."

"You mean you read our brainwaves?" Hego almost bellowed. Shego and all three other members of Team Go had to make a visible effort to avoid responding to _that _straight line. They may subconsciously have decided to let the woman herself take it. And she did.

"What there was to read, yes." Then, possibly to divert Hego from the task of deciding whether or not he had been insulted, she diverged, "Oh, forgive, me for not introducing myself, I am Doctor Eliza Morrisey, pleased to meet you all."

Several murmured acknowledgments later, since no one else needed to be introduced in turn, she continued. "In any case, I was very curious about the results displayed when Electronique used the device on Team Go, especially the results from two of you. So, I went to Henchco's Intelligence Division to learn all I could about Team Go, and came to some surprising conclusions."

"Well, working from the limited amount of information publicly available about us, I am sure you cannot be expected to make a truly comprehensive analysis of whatever you learned from that infernal machine." Hego spoke, confidently, and a bit condescendingly.

"Limited? Oh, no, our information on Team Go is quite comprehensive, we assembled quite a file on you, for sale to any willing to pay our price, which to date, has been two clients."

"Well, you cannot possibly..._Only two!_ But our enemies exist by the hundreds...well, dozens, or so...anyway, how can only two have been interested in learning what ever paltry secrets your 'Intelligence' was able to glean about us?"

"Well, first off, most of your 'enemies' never have the resources to afford any of Henchco's services, and secondly, very few of them would make our mailing lists at all, to tell the truth. They are, to put it mildly, somewhat third rate."

Hego actually seemed to become slightly outraged, though not likely on behalf of those slighted 'third raters'. "Oh Really! Well, what about Aviarius, or the Gruesome...What did he change it to last time?"

Mego shrugged, "I lost track, like it ever matters? No matter what the name, he still uses the same tired old Special Effects to try and scare people into paying him protection, and only a few morons do."

Hego swelled up with outrage. "Those morons include the City Comptroller, Mego! Who I don't mean to say that 'I' think he's a moron, of course, but..."

"As to your question about Aviarius?" Doctor Morrisey interrupted, " He was actually banned from all Henchco services early on, due to his theft, or at least nonpayment for, a certain item. Though he later managed to acquire your File through an intermediary, who has since also been banned."

"Who would do that old bird a favor?" Shego asked, mildly curious despite herself.

"Probably Gertie Greyfog" Mego responded, "They have a thing going."

Shego looked slightly ill. "By thing, you mean?" Mego nodded. "What happens if her powers spontaneously go off when she's 'excited', like she claims they do?"

Mego shrugged "Well, all things considered, not being able to see each other clearly might be a bonus in their relationship."

Shego nodded. "There is that." She turned to Doctor Morrisey, "You said two clients bought a copy?"

"Well, yes, but client privilege being what it is, well, you know how it is." But somehow, the doctor looked too uncomfortable with the subject, and Shego took a leap of logic.

"Was it Drakken?" No verbal confirmation was necessary, the look on the doctor's face was enough. "Oh, that man! Can't stop being nosy to save his blue hide! Well, another thing to bring up next time we get together, he can't seem to take 'stay out of my past' in the spirit I intended. As a _death threat_!"

"I should also point out that payment for that is still pending, he seems to be trying to claim he thought he was just checking it out, like a library book." The doctor shook her head slightly. "We're getting off track, and I can't really afford to waste time in my condition."

"How long do you think you have?" Shego asked, somewhat surprised to feel as much compassion as she was.

"Well, I'm in remission right now, but I'm afraid it's probably my last, and I expect rapid deterioration when it ends, so if I am to help you, it will have to be soon."

"Help me?" Shego asked, vaguely aware that Hego spoke simultaneously, but saying "Help us?"

"Yes, you see, I think there is something fundamentally wrong with you and Hego, and if not corrected, could have serious consequences."

"Wrong with me? Why would you think that?" Shego responded warily. Hego said nothing this time, which might have surprised Shego had she really noticed. Denying the woman's statement should have been a near automatic reaction from him.

"Don't you think there might be something wrong, Shego?" Saying this, Eliza starred straight into the pale woman's eyes.

Automatic denial for her should have been, well, automatic, but Shego couldn't say anything. She _knew_ something was wrong. Something basically different between who she was and who she had been that had changed far too abruptly to be easily dismissed.

"Wrong how? Are they sick?" One of the Wegos asked.

Eliza sighed before replying, "Well, it's something that should concern them, though calling it a sickness might be inaccurate."

"Then what exactly would you call it?" Shego asked.

"Well, before I answer that, perhaps you would satisfy your Brothers' curiosity, and perhaps provide an example I can refer to, by describing what happened in Go City last week, and especially what happened that night in that terrible 'club'?"

It was literally the last thing Shego wanted to do at that time, even more than keeping her brothers from noticing the picture prominently featuring her, which unfortunately Doctor Morrisey had seated herself directly in front of. Which meant of course, she could draw their collective attention to her, and away from said Picture, by doing that last thing...

"It concerns Milly Whitlock..." She began.

"Milly?" Mego exclaimed, "We haven't seen her since she was adopted, and left the Orphanage."

"Mego!" Hego hissed, "Don't metion the 'O' place in front of strangers!" As an aside, it was a dismal failure, as Hego's voice carried clearly to everyone present.

"On the subject of the 'O' place.." Doctor Morrisey interjected, "That's one of many facts in that file I mentioned, that none of you, except the twins, are in fact blood relatives, but bonded into a 'family' while in the Crescent Street Orphanage, In Clayborough, the western district of Go City, I believe?"

Hego looked shocked, but recovered, unconvincingly, and smiled with slight condescension, "Well, that _is_ a most interesting rumor, but I can certainly not confirm it."

Shego was conflicted, she could avoid, or delay her storytelling until some other idea came to her, by continuing the debate over whether or not the 'File' on Team Go was accurate or not, but suddenly she _wanted_ to go on with her story, even thinking of it as letting her family judge her for her actions. It was a decidedly alien feeling to her, but she dove right into it.

"AS I WAS SAYING..." All eyes turned to her, "A week ago, these two..." Indicating Jen and Sam, "Talked Kim Possible into traveling to Drakken's home on Isle Drakkon, to see me. She...she brought me Milly's ashes." Her voice went flat as she said this, and she took a moment to decide how to proceed. "Milly died in a hospice in some third world country they won't even tell me the name of." A slight glare at the two women, "Because Milly probably thought I would go there and destroy the place that destroyed her, and maybe hurt some innocents in the bargain." _"And she was right, as usual, when predicting my actions!"_

"Place that destroyed her? I thought she was adopted by a family in St. Louis?" Mego asked, brow furrowed, as he tried to remember things as they had been, not the way he in his own mind had somewhat softened them in memory.

Shego shook her head angrily as she answered, "She was used up in a brothel in that same country, then dumped in an alley to die, until some Sisters running the hospice found her and let her have some dignity when she died. But she only ended up in the brothel after the damned 'Club' used her up, after she was sold to _them_ straight from the orphanage!" The last came out with considerable heat, and Shego made no attempt to moderate her temper as she continued. "Sold, by two people she, and we, trusted!"

Shock was the featured look on the faces of all her 'brothers'. Hego then began to look warily at Shego, and might even have been about to accuse her fabrication, but before that fateful, or fatal, move on his part could be made, Doctor Morrisey cut him off by getting Shego back on track. "Why were the ashes brought to you, did she make you aware of her wishes in such a case?"

Shego's look became unfocused for a second, then she nodded. "Yeah, she told me where she wanted to be buried, or if cremated, where to spread her ashes. And I carried out her wishes. At least those wishes..." Her voice trailed off.

Now one of the Wegos spoke up. "I remember Milly." "Yeah, she was the first person you ever let near us after Mrs Wallings passed away." the other chimed in.

Shego felt the memory surge up. Barely Eight years old, and socially an outcast among the orphans, then Mrs Wallings had called her to the nursery one day. _"Ana, we have two new arrivals here today, see, two fine little boys. Their mother became very sick and couldn't take care of them, so I promised to find someone who would make it their special job to take care of them." _She had paused, looking the young loner in the eye, _"Do you think you could do that job for me, Ana?"_

And the Wegos were right, once she took that job, because she never could deny Mrs Wallings, no one else could be trusted around the twins. Until Milly. And not even her, for some time.

"Was that all you were supposed to do, dispose of her remains, Shego?" the Doctor's voice broke her thought train up.

"That was all she asked of me, because she didn't want me to get into trouble avenging her." Shego gestured at the two female mercenaries again. "She asked them to make sure it never happened to another orphan, at least from that day on, because Milly wasn't the first, and not the last either."

"But that wasn't all you did?"

"Hell, No!" Shego's eyes flared with emerald fire as she spoke, "No way I was not going to get a pound of flesh out of those people after what they did! And I wasn't going to let anyone talk me out of doing it, with them, or without!" She calmed, looking suddenly subdued, "Which is Ironic, considering how I messed things up."

"And Kim Possible?"

"The Princess? Well, she knew me too well to expect me to stay out of it, so I guess she tried to get me to respect Milly's wishes. And when she couldn't stop me, she stuck with me, maybe hoping to keep me from going too far." Shego shook her head, lost in a memory for just a moment. "After all, she is a hero, the 'girl who can do anything', so going from second class supervillains to some white slavers probably didn't sound that hard to her." _"So, why didn't you tell her the difference? Because you thought she deserved anything she got if she stuck her neck in? Now how does it sit in your gut, O Mighty Shego?"_

"So where did it go wrong?"

"Not 'it', 'Me', get it? I went wrong, I screwed everything up because all I wanted was to personally deal with those bastards, and whoever ran the 'Club' they talked about." She paused, looking at a vacant spot in the room, to avoid seeing anyone's eyes, "Kim went to the orphanage and met Mrs Kenneally, and told her the truth about Milly, and it shocked her, but not as much as it should have. And Mrs K ended up telling Possible about the odd adoptions like Milly's, which clued her in on who was responsible." She paused, scowling, "Wouldn't share the info with me, though, knew I'd probably ditch her and go after them myself."

"Who were they, Shego?" Mego asked. All Team Go members except him had taken seats by this time. "Who in that place was selling kids to sex clubs?"

Shego took a deep breath. "Mister Frailey, and his nephew, Tom, did the selling. Tom also gave the girls a little advance 'education', anything that didn't take their virginity."

"Shego!" Hego blurted, then nodded towards the twins.

"They're old enough, Henry." Shego replied sternly. Henry frowned, then just nodded his head sheepishly, "If you say so, Ana, you know best." The fact that they'd used their given names in front of strangers seemed to have passed right by Hego. His conceding the argument to Shego was also an old habit, when it came to anything involving the twins.

Mego got his jaw in working order. "Mister Frailey? He...he was the one that got us all that stuff, the baseball gear, the football stuff, a couple of good TVs..." He trailed off, "You arent saying he paid for it by..."

Shego shook her head, "I doubt it, he really was good at getting donations from people for the orphanage, I doubt he spent any of the proceeds from his other 'business' on any of our needs."

"How many children did he sell?"

"To the club? Only two, or maybe three a year, maybe 2 dozen all total." _"But there were two he didn't sell, or he wouldn't be in a jail cell right now, he'd be sharing __hell with that bastard Macheles!" _"Records of all the sales to the 'Club' were seized by the Feds and Global Justice, and those not found on the premises at the time of the raid are being tracked down, hopefully they'll be found." _"Though there may be little hope of them ever living a 'normal' life even if brought back."_

All the life seemed to bleed out of Mego, as he slumped onto the same bench as the twins, who made room for him. Hego got an old familiar look in his eye, containing some degree of guilt for not seeing these things under his nose, and some determination to make a pronouncement that it would never happen again. Shego saw it coming, and headed it off.

"Things got kind of hectic after we left the orphanage.." Shego continued, repressing a smirk at the understatement, "But to keep it short ad to the point, Kim let herself be taken captive by Macheles' men. I was supposed to follow them, then call in the cavalry." Her look soured considerably. "William Frailey cooperated, never mind why, and Macheles' thugs picked Kim up at his place. I was waiting outside. The club people didn't come straight in, of course, they checked around the area first. And they were good, let me tell you, I had to be better to stay undetected. But they finally went inside, and had Frailey keep the landlady distracted while they took Kim out. First, they stripped her to her underwear, making sure she didn't have any tracking devices on her, then bundled her up neat as can be and carried her out to their car. They put her in the trunk and headed out, dumping her clothes in a trash can shortly after leaving Frailey's. I took a moment to dig them out, since I had already put a tracker on their car. That was almost a big mistake."

"Because they switched cars." Shego winced slightly, "But I had luck and road construction on my side, I spotted the driver and recognized him going the opposite way from where I was going. If it hadn't been for the slowdown caused by the road work, I would have certainly attracted their attention turning around to get behind them. But I managed it, and they led me to the old Dunn Theater, where the 'Club' was holding their latest show." She looked at Doctor Morrisey, "The Dunn closed a couple years ago, and belonged to a holding company, which turned out to be owned by the head of the 'Club', Armand Macheles, may he rot in hell!"

"Did you kill him, Shego?" Hego asked, breaking the longest silence Shego could remember around him.

"No, I did." Jen Paladin spoke for the first time all evening.

Hego met her impassive gaze and wilted slightly. "Oh, I see." Not able to quite let it go, however, "I Hope the killing was self defense, at least?"

"Oh yeah," Shego replied, "When his powers failed on _her_, he panicked and pulled the fancy pistol he wore on his belt. Wasn't even any good with it, according to some, but maybe he thought his bodyguard would draw the first shot."

"Did he?" Mego asked curiously.

Shego nodded, smiling grimly. "Yep, the first two in fact, but the third was in Macheles' head before he got his gun up." That caused Mego to regard Jen with a look of awe that made Shego hide a grin. _"Figures that would impress him, he always loved Westerns as a kid!"_

"How come Macheles' power didn't work on her?" One of the Wegos asked, pointing at Jen.

"Because I gave him nothing to work with." Jen Paladin replied flatly.

Those words stung Shego in her pride. She had gotten the same answer when she had asked the same question after it had all ended, after which the two women had walked away into the night, apparently dismissing her from their concerns. Why had it been so easy to turn her? She suddenly considered the possibility that the answer to that question was due to come out this evening.

"Please continue, Shego." From Doctor Morrisey.

"Kim expected me to call for help, once we found the club, because I kinda promised to. And of course, if I had...Never mind! Anyway, While they were taking Kim backstage to ask her some questions, and ready her for the show, I found Macheles' temporary 'office', including a laptop with his records on it. That's when I did call Nerdlinger..." She noticed the quizzical looks she was getting, "..Oh, Wade Load, Possible's webmaster, and tech support nerd. Anyway, he cracked the security on the laptop in nothing flat, once I convinced him I was working on Kim's side for once. And there was a list of all the orphans that had been sold to the club, or almost sold."

"Almost sold? What do you mean?" Mego was paying attention again. "And why did you have Kim's Kimmunicator...oh, right, she must have given it to you, obviously!"

Shego nodded. "As to the first question, our little comet threw some of their plans off a bit." Then she stopped..._"too much, please don't ask..."_

Hego gave her an out, by for once jumping to an actually logical, if erroneous, conclusion. "They were going to buy you, Ana?"

"_Better than the truth..._" "Yeah, something like that. But they didn't want to buy any color-coded kids, at least 'til they found out what it all meant." _"And maybe we were lucky that we became wards of the City. With the twins able to duplicate themselves, they might have still been an attractive acquisition for those bastards!"_

Having negotiated past a sensitive spot, Shego continued. "Anyway, with Nerd_Wade's help, I got all I needed...to send me into a towering rage! I stormed down there onto that stage to kill that smug bastard, and I do mean kill!" Looking Hego in the eye, "But he reached right into my head and turned that anger to his advantage!" _Then two of his female workers had stripped her naked right on the stage._ "Then they swung that panel around, and there was Kim, crucified..." She paused, "Or at least it was meant to look that way..." another hesitation, "I mean, the nails were real, believe me, but they were small ones, if that matters, there was some support the audience couldn't see and her feet were on the ground, so she wasn't hanging from them!"_ But Macheles had had to exert himself to suppress some unrest among the audience at the sight of Kim. But he hadn't relaxed his hold on Shego, who had just stood looking into the eyes of the girl she had betrayed..." _She shook her head as if to banish that vision, then explained,_ "_Macheles only cared about the illusion of sacrilege, he had some serious anti-faith issues."

"Anyway, before something unforgivable could happen, the cavalry did arrive, though I still don't know how they got there." She looked at the women in question, but got no acknowledgment. "Like I said, Macheles tried to turn his powers on Miss Paladin, and failed, panicked, and got himself killed. A couple more guys in the back were stupid, too, or so I understand. Miss McCarron dealt with them. And then the Feds came in, along with GJ, and cleaned everything up, end of story."

"How did you feel when Macheles released you from his grip? In that clip on the news, your powers did start to flare just before it ended?" Doctor Morrisey asked. She looked fatigued, reminding Shego of her condition, which partially reduced her resentment at having to answer further.

"I was a little...confused at first. Yeah, I had a momentary surge of anger, but I wasn't fast enough on the draw."_ And then her attention had switched to Possible. As she had approached the girl, about to give the audience the 'highlight' of their evening, she had seen that look in Kim's eyes, a look she once would have given anything to cause. But as soon as her mind was free, it spun out of control. She violently pulled the nails out, and caught the younger girl as she collapsed, hugging her tightly as tears ran down her cheeks._

_And then, Kim had stiffened, and Shego realized how stupid she was, the girl had been terrorized by her, and here she was grabbing her like an idiot, practically attacking her. But before she could release her and back off, Kim had relaxed, and put her arms, bloody hands and all, around her, and patted her back._

"_Don't cry, Ana." And she had passed out in Shego's arms._

"_And I still don't know where she found out my real name" _Shego thought. Those were the last words between them, for Possible was now recovering amongst family and friends, and Shego certainly didn't count as one of those.

Now Shego turned to Doctor Morrisey, "Does that have anything to do with what you brought us here to talk about?_"_

Doctor Morrisey sighed, then straightened up a little. "Yes, Shego, it does indeed. So, now it is my turn to talk, and for all of you to listen, if you please." She looked Shego in the eye, and briefly, she seemed different, clear eyed. "I can't just tell you the truth outright, we have to go about this a certain way." Then Shego blinked, and Eliza was back to looking frail, and weak. _"Huh? What was that about?"_

"We have already established that you all came together in an orphanage. I believe you bonded together for various reasons into a pseudo-family unit." She looked at Hego. "You were the Big Brother/Father figure?" A snort from Shego and Mego followed, before Mego looked up, "Big Brother, sure, but 'Father'? No." Hego looked slightly offended.

"Well in any case, a protector, if not a provider?" Hego began to get nervous, suspecting where this was going. Mego and the Wegos seemed to agree with that answer, though.

Eliza nodded, then looked at Shego, "And you had the Big Sister/Mother role?" Shego almost snorted, but instead blushed when she saw the twins solemnly nodding. "Mego fell into a protected role, because at the time, he was shy and tried to avoid trouble, which of course made him the obvious magnet for the bullies in the place." Mego looked a little shocked, but then nodded, frowning as he began to see something of the shape of this conversation.

"And no arguments about the twins' role. But, I bet you loved playing practical jokes on people who didn't know there were two of you, didn't you?" The Wegos now looked shocked, but then nodded. "Yes I thought so."

"So, this seemed to be quite a nice arrangement, if everyone filled there roles properly." Hego squirmed a bit at this. "Unfortunately, it didn't always run smoothly did it?" Focusing on Hego, she continued, "Hego tended to be easily 'distracted' from his role as protector, am I right?"

At first there was no answer, but Shego couldn't hold her tongue, "Well, if you call something with blond hair, and way too much figure for fifteen a distraction, then yes, Easily." Hego blushed, and opened his mouth to offer protest, but the doctor pushed on.

"And with one easy mark..." looking at Mego, "..and two aggravations to get revenge on..." looking of course at the Wegos, "That would force Shego, or Anastasia? I have to ask, did you get that name at the orphanage, dear?" Shego nodded, "Ah! Well, she was forced into the protector role, one she was not well suited for at the time, physically, or temperamentally. And she knew it." Shego didn't answer, her eyes becoming unfocused as she thought back to those days.

"But she did defend us!" "She did a great job!" both Wegos were almost angry as they defended her.

Eliza smiled in a placating manner, and nodded."But at what cost? Physically, she must have taken a beating? And according to the orphanage records, she took most if not all of the blame for the fights."

"That was because of Mason Spindoc! Mrs Kenneally always believed him when he blamed Shego for all of it." One Wego replied hotly.

"Not all." Shego interjected, "He knew better than that, he had to let his pals take some of the punishment for credibility's sake. He knew exactly how to tell his stories so they fit the facts and evidence. Mrs Kenneally may have been a first class...well, she wasn't a fool."

Eliza nodded again. "And Mason stood behind or beside her, out of reach of retaliation while he spun his tales?" Shego nodded, not surprised at this deduction, because she was getting a good idea of what the doctor meant to tell them.

"And then, the 'Comet' struck." the doctor made 'air quotes' for comet, which made Hego frown slightly. "And gave you all what you thought you wanted." Hego and the Wegos look stunned, but both Shego and Mego just looked grim, with Shego nodding slowly.

"How do you mean, what we wanted?" Hego barely controlled the volume on his voice. "We wanted superpowers?" He looked around at the others, " I mean, maybe I did, a bit, but I never thought..."

"Not specifically, no. The power that came into you assumed the form you desired it to, based on what you wanted at that particular time." She looked at Hego, " You wanted to be 'Strong', and 'Good', probably so you wouldn't be tempted so easily from your duty, whatever it might be?"

She turned to Mego, " And you, you wanted to avoid trouble, by just 'disappearing' when things got bad? But the power couldn't grant you invisibility, apparently, so it gave you the best it could." Mego nodded, with a look of satisfaction at the confirmation of his deductions on his face.

Now Eliza focused on the Wegos, "And, as young as you were, your biggest desire was to be able to play those tricks on people again, so there had to be more of you to fool people." The Wegos looked wide-eyed as the implications sank in.

She turned to Shego, " And you wanted to be 'Mean' and 'Scary', to frighten those bullies off so you didn't take those beatings protecting the younger ones. Oh, and you wanted to be able to reach that Spindoc boy, no matter how out of reach he thought he was." She paused, "And you got to this spot before I led you here, didn't you?"

Shego smiled faintly, "Yeah, sort of. So, the Comet altered the way I think as well, didn't it?"

"First off it wasn't a Comet, and yes, it modified yours and Hego's behavior to suit your desires." Eliza replied.

"How do you know it wasn't a comet? Other then the fact a comet is a huge solid object that would have made a huge crater on impact?"

"This is classified information, which Jack bought, and would scream if he found an employee.." Eliza paused, looking at Shego, "Yes, still an employee, so all this.." she gestured at herself, "...can be covered by my company medical plan. Jack is an old friend, and he is taking care of me."

"Anyway, on the day you received your powers, an Air Force F-16 reported firing on, and hitting, an unidentified aircraft, not of any known configuration, 15 miles East of Go City. The 'aircraft' never appeared on any radar, but gave off enough thermal signature for a Sidewinder to hit it."

"One thing that pilot reported was seeing a bright, multi-colored flash, as the UFO fell into cloud cover near Go City." Her audience looked at her in general shock. "In addition to what befell you that day, a young man found an object stuck in the roof of his family garden shed. The object looked valuable, so he tried to sell it. But he had no success, until he offered it to Henchco. From whom, Aviarius stole it years later."

Shego blinked, and beat Mego to the shout, "The Sceptre! It was made to control our powers!"

"Yes, and take them from you if you appeared 'unworthy' of them, perhaps. Though in all honesty, I don't believe those powers were meant for you at all. If the Air Force hadn't gotten involved, they might have ended up with anybody, maybe good, maybe evil, who knows? Besides those who came here to invest those powers."

"Do you think they might come and take them back?" One of the Wegos asked, causing sudden panic to cross Hego's face.

"No idea at all, and not my concern tonight." The doctor looked at Shego, "My concern is for you, my dear, I don't think your sanity will survive many more years with what was done to your mind."

"And what do you think that was, exactly?" Shego asked curiously.

Eliza paused, chosing her words carefully. "The suppression of the natural occurrence of 'good' feelings, and the substitution of 'evil' emotions when they could be made to fit. The amplification of your natural 'wild' streak, and your tendency to mistrust and defy rigid authority."

Shego nodded. "Sounds about right."

Eliza's expression briefly displayed a flash of anger. "But it isn't 'right', because suppressed feelings are dangerous things, whether you force them down by yourself, or your 'rewired' mind does it automatically. The mindset the Comet gave you doesn't suit you, my dear, and I strongly suspect your brain is starting to fight it. I also submit that it made you far more vulnerable to Macheles' power than you should have been." She then looked even more serious, if that was possible, "And there are others out there who have powers that might exploit that weakness as well."

Shego absorbed all this in silence for a moment. "Well, are you saying you can correct it?"

"The mental stuff, yes. Can't do anything about your powers, though I suspect it would be possible for you to alter them yourselves, under certain circumstances, but don't ask me how that can be accomplished." Mego became distracted by his own musings in response to this revelation, and the Wegos suddenly found reason to start a whispering exchange. "However, yes, I can undo what the Comet did to your brain, and you can see how that goes."

"Do you mean, that you can turn Shego back to the side of 'Good'?" Hego looked suddenly alert, a bad sign. Shego, and to her amusement the doctor, rolled their eyes at this, before Eliza replied, "I point out that Shego already had a 'wild' side even before the Comet, and a certain...disrespect for authority. Those will remain, she will just be able to feel 'normal' emotions freely, without her imposed mindset trying to force her to ignore certain ones that she thinks are 'soft'."

Shego thought about that. She remembered that even when she was distraught, and Kim had told her not to cry, there had even then bit a hint of anger, that she shouldn't be 'told' not to cry, that she could cry if she wanted to. But it had been at war with that very disgust she felt for weakness in herself, and had been stifled. "OK, I'm in, but I want to check things out first." She smirked, "not a trusting soul, you see."

Doctor Morrisey paused, then nodded, "Understood, but remember, I may not have long before I am unable to treat you, so decide soon."

Shego nodded again, "You'll have my decision by tomorrow night."

The doctor looked surprised, "Well a fast decision is best, if you think you'll be satisfied."

"I have reliable sources for what I need to find out, let's leave it at that."

The doctor smiled again, "Very well, we shall." She looked at Hego, "and what about you?"

"Let me get this straight, you are saying, because of the Comet, I no longer think Evil thoughts?"

"Not exactly, you cannot think in a deceitful manner, save to hide your secrets. You tend to deny all temptation, as well, without considering whether it would really harm you or not. The problem is, you also cannot anticipate deceitful behavior in others. Which is why you always seem to be surprised by even the most moronic villain's escape attempts after you believe they should surrender, why you continually walk straight into their traps, and generally only defeat their plots because they tend to call you up and gloat to you, usually giving the whole plan away in the process."

Hego mulled this over. Then having collected his thoughts, he replied, "And you think this is bad, why?" Groans and the sounds of hands smacking foreheads followed, then a hubbub of voices as his siblings all began trying to explain it to him.

00000000000

"So, you're sure the researcher you told me about earlier was named Eliza Morrisey?" The question coming over her cellphone made Shego frown as she looked irritably skyward at the rain beginning to come down even heavier. It had been only twenty minutes since she left the Gallery and her brothers. The two mercenaries had escorted their client out ten minutes later, followed shortly by her brothers, engaged in another round of arguments, probably on the same subject as inside, Hego being 'cured'. Hego didn't trust doctors very much, when they dealt in things he couldn't actually see. Not that Shego blamed him much, she had a hard time trusting headshrinkers, too. "Yes, Gordie, I'm sure, are you sure about your information?"

"Absolutely! She's in a coma at the moment, and Jack has that fact under wraps, no one else he currently has comes close to her, he let too many of his good people get head-hunted out from under his nose last year!" Shego's inside contact at Henchco had to be a long way from any of Hench's properties to be talking so freely.

"Okay, Gordie, that's all I needed to know, you'll get your reward the usual way, 'night!" Shego closed her cellphone and muttered a curse. _"So hoping she was on the level! Guess I better warn Hego, and listen to how he 'just knew' she wasn't on the level!"_She looked across at the gallery entrance. _"Now, if the two lovebirds would finish their business and leave!"_

"Pardon me, would you care to share my umbrella?" Shego jumped in surprise. _"Damn! Must be my night to be off my game, I didn't even see this guy coming!"_Turning to look at the speaker, she saw it to be a small man wearing a corduroy jacket and a straw hat with an upturned brim. The umbrella was colorful, to say the least. "Uh, no thank you, I'm fine!" She replied.

"Ah! Enjoying the feel of precipitation on your head? Well, to each their own." But he didn't show any signs of leaving. _"Okay, how do I do this subtly, so I don't have to abandon my plan for that picture?"_

"She means well, you know." The stranger suddenly commented.

"Huh?" Was her less than impressive response.

The man flashed a big smile. "She really wants to help you, but she's never done it before, so if you follow that path, you'll get your answers, it just won't be easy."

Shego's senses were on full alert, now. First he surprises her by sneaking up on her, now he does it again, by knowing, maybe, what had happened earlier. She opened her mouth, but before she could utter a sound, he continued.

"I'm not in league with her, if that's your concern. I myself made a mistake, and though I have the ability to simply undo it, that's a bad habit to fall into, makes it more likely I'll be careless about making mistakes in the future. However, I can make up for it in other ways."

"How do you know so much? I don't trust strangers giving free advice, especially when my life may depend on it!" Shego had moved farther from the stranger, keeping one eye on him, as she scanned her surroundings, in case he was a diversion for something else.

"Oh, I know a great many things, I can't help it! But, sometimes I find I don't know what I think I do, and sometimes, the consequences can be dire! But this much I do know! The woman you talked to earlier will never willingly harm you, but she may not handle the matter as smoothly as she could, she just isn't that experienced at interacting with people, or understanding them." He took a pocket watch out and studied it. "I must be going, you've heard my advice, and can decide for yourself, but I reiterate, she wants to help you and your brothers, that is her sincere wish. Good Luck, Shego!" And he turned, and walked off into the rain.

Shego just stared after him as he vanished into the night. _"Huh! Weird much?"_

* * *

Re-wrote this, 1-10-09, for those who've been here before. Just went back and saw all the typos from it's original draft, and couldn't help myself.


	2. Strange Visitors

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Disclaimer: Once again, I deny all ownership of Kim Possible or any off the characters taken from other media that I may reference in this story.

By the way, Kim will not be making an appearance until Chapter two, though I may write both and post them together, to prove I am actually writing a Kim fanfic.

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"_Good morning, Middleton! Still at the top of our local news today is the disappearance of teen heroine Kim Possible. Miss Possible has not been seen since she left her home six days ago. Many fear she has met with some form of foul play, but others remind us she is a teenage girl, after all, and her disappearance might have nothing to do with her heroic activities. Some have darkly speculated that her disappearance might be related to her unpleasant experience in Go City recently, and some have even suggested the young woman may have developed suicidal feelings..."_

**Setting: Colorado, one week after graduation.**

It was quite a beautiful late spring morning in the foothills of the Rockies. The morning was starting off cool, under an almost clear sky. Scattered white clouds drifted slowly northwards over the peaks, some so low as to actually appear to touch them.

A two-lane blacktop road, recently resurfaced and painted, wound upslope through a 'pass' of moderate width, between some of the more impressive 'foothills' to the east, and genuine mountains to the west. To the South, it led to highways which in turn led to the Upperton-Middleton-Lowerton metropolitan area. To the north, it led to several small towns who mostly showed great activity only during winter months, with winter sports' enthusiasts flocking to the towns when the snow fell.

But this section of the pass showed only one sign of humanity's presence other then the road, a small purple car, parked in a depression about forty yards off the road, invisible to passing motorists. There were none of those at the moment, which was fortunate, as they might have had difficulties keeping their eyes on the road, with what happened next.

With a swelling crescendo of wheezing and groaning, the TARDIS materialized about twenty yards west of the road. After a few minutes, it's doors opened, and four young women emerged, staring around in wonder at the landscape. Two were identical twins, about five six, with shoulder length blond swirling freely as they gazed about, trying to take everything in. Another had Asian features, and bright red hair, cut short, with a streak of bright metallic blue running from her forehead to the nape of her neck, just left of center. She was an inch shorter then the twins, and had a more slender build, along with a smooth, balanced style of movement.

The fourth girl was the least impressive, physically. Barely over five feet, she was slight of build, but had apparently worked hard to be as fit as possible. Short black hair hung in an unkempt, shaggy, look. A large leather satchel hung from one shoulder, and a smaller kit bag from the other, which the other girls also bore. Clothing for all four was normal enough, Jeans, blouses, and sneakers, of a generic cut, as if all had been bought off any bargain shelf between the 1960s and the present.

"So, this is twenty-first century Earth, where man actually started?" JJ Ko, the redhead, commented.

"Hmmm, I like the scent of the air." Annabelle Reeder replied. Her twin, Annibeth nodded agreement, but soured the mood slightly, "Of course, it won't all be like this, industrialized planet and all." Belle gave her a dark look, hating to have her mood broken.

The dark girl, Charley Cob, finished scanning all she could see. She then opened the top of the satchel, and said, "Okay Boys, I think it's safe to come out." With that, four small, fist-sized metal skulls rose out of the satchel, peering around as they emerged. They were, in order, Fred, who had a glossy black finish; Saul, who appeared as well-polished steel; Ben, a medium, metallic blue; And Roy, a similar shade of red. Their design was stylized, not anatomically accurate. As soon as he emerged, Roy zipped towards the nearest thing to catch his interest, some wildflowers, and the early bees who were buzzing about them. Ben also drifted away, but moved slowly, after if to hide his own enthusiasm to explore.

"I wonder why the Doctor..." JJ was interrupted by the sound of the TARDIS de-materializing. Anyone familiar with that noise would have noticed that it seemed a little strained, and the reason soon became apparent. As the timeship vanished from sight, another ship appeared in it's place. Big and solid looking, it obviously seemed far too big to have been inside the just vanished machine. The lack of control surfaces, save for two vestigial wings set well back, or any propellers or exhaust ports for jet or rocket engines would have left any local not a Science Fiction fan wondering how it could fly. It's upper half was painted a medium blue-gray, while the lower half was a gray dark enough to be almost black. The ship, named by it's builder's eight year old daughter, was known as Thundagirl, and was a sentient, albeit artificial, entity.

As the last sounds of the TARDIS faded, a voice came from the ship. "Well! I don't think that crack about giving birth was necessary!" All four girls looked up to where she was hovering, and JJ asked, "From the Doctor?"

"No, the TARDIS." At their looks, she added, "She is a sentient entity. You know."

"Yeah, but having sentience, and having a sense of humor, are two different things." Belle replied.

"What makes you think she was making a joke?"

Charley had already tuned out the conversation, and was again regarding the landscape, through both her own eyes, and those of her 'boys'. While very young, Charley had had her brain altered, making use of previously dormant sections to allow her to receive, process, and analyze multiple visual imputs. She could, at will, link with any or all of the 'boys' and see all that they saw, while still being aware of her immediate surroundings through her own eyes. She could also unlink from all of them, and process the input of her own eyes at five times the speed of a normal human, almost literally missing no detail visible to her.

"T-Girl? Oh, wait, I wanted to ask, you never liked that name, would you like us to call you something different now?" Charley asked. There was a brief pause, before the ship replied, "No, the name is all I have left of Bara, now, except memories, so, silly as it sounds, it's my name."

Charley nodded, "Okay, then. Can you scan the area thoroughly? I can't help thinking the Doctor dropped us here for a reason."

"Done." After something less then a minute, she reported, "Well, for one thing, there is an unoccupied ground vehicle thirty-seven yards from you, in that depression with the two pointed outcrops on the rim? I can see it's tracks from where it left the road, it has probably been there several hours."

Before Charley could reply, she saw a red and a blue streak zipping towards the designated depression. "Boys!" she said, in an exasperated undertone. "Was there something else?"

"Yes, do you see that mountain due...sorry, just adjusted to the positions of this planet's poles; west, which is in your current 'ten o'clock' position?" Charley looked in that direction, seeing a mountain of no particular distinction. "Yes, what about it?"

"Well, there is some sort of underground complex beneath it. I read sixteen human life forms inside, one of whom, for some reason, is crawling through the ventilation ducts."

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'Kim Possible!" Shego stopped the bored swiveling of her chair to look across his desk at her boss, Doctor Drakken, who was reading from an online new service, "Kim Possible! Everywhere I look, I see her name! I'd almost rather have her here annoying me, Shego!"

"Perish the thought, Doctor D! The Princess is a big deal to some people, her disappearance is going to be headline news, after all." She turned the screen that Drakken had been reading, and frowned, "_But not the top story any more, and after only a week?" _"So, you have to expect this sort of thing."

Drakken took a deep breath, then nodded, "Of course, you're right, Shego. I think the uncertainty is what bothers me, almost more than anyone who isn't her friend, or member of her family. She is my arch-foe, and not knowing her status is vexing!" He regarded the pale thief, "Is it possible that someone has killed her?"

"By someone, you mean another villain?" At Drakken's nod, Shego shrugged, "I doubt it, with all the grapevines we are plugged into, we would have heard something. Substantial, I mean, not chat room gossip. Now, can we get back to another topic?"

Drakken nodded, "Of course. As I was saying, we have enough funds to run this lair, with it's current 'staff', for eight months. My intention is to lie low for six, while preparing a certain plan that cannot be carried out earlier then that."

"To take over the World?" Shego smirked.

Drakken rolled his eyes, "Shego, please be serious! This plan, if it is pulled off correctly, should insure that we have a large inflow of capital to fund subsequent ventures. Not legal capital, but why would that bother us?"

"Oh, so you're thinking long-term here, right?"

Drakken nodded, smugly, "VERY long term, Shego, very long." He paused, "Now, I don't expect you to remain idle for six months, so any restrictions in our personal contract that inhibit your activities are suspended for the next, say, four and a half months. Then we need to begin planning and training in earnest."

"Gee, thanks Doctor D." though mildly sarcastic, there was some gratitude in the reply, as well. There was a certain degree of accountability written into her contract, and Shego honored contracts, even before her recent restoration of 'conscience'.

"Now, what do you think of our current crop of hench...What was that?" he broke off, as a tiny, echoing noise came to his ears.

Shego looked at the grill over the nearest A/C outlet and grinned, "Why Doctor D, I'd have thought by now you'd know the sound of a Mole rat sneezing..."

0000000000

By this time the four girls, and the four skulls, had gathered around the mystery car. Charley had pulled a large metal bracer, covered with displays of various types, from her bag, and fitted it to her left arm, covering it from wrist to elbow.

"Doesn't look very impressive." Beth commented.

"That's because you can only see the outside," Charley answered, eyes on her bracer's displays, "It is actually a quite sophisticated vehicle for this era, though incomplete." Seeing questioning looks, she explained, "There are several power connections with nothing currently connected to them, and indications that the equipment has been removed, not still to be installed. Impressive internal and external sensors, though the latter are currently disconnected. The locking system...Roy!" She shouted too late, as a dull click came from the drivers' side door. Before she could chastise the overcurious skull, a faint voice could be heard from inside the vehicle. Rolling her eyes, she walked over and opened the door to see what kind of security system had been activated.

Inside she found herself locking eyes with the hologram of a teenage boy of African heritage(Though that term would have meant nothing to Charley, more than six hundred years in the future, it would have long fallen from use on human colonies.) The hologram looked back and scowled, "Who're you? Where's Ron? How did you bypass the security...What's that!?" Roy had hovered into his view.

Charley grinned sheepishly, "Uh, that's Roy, he opened the lock..." She turned a glare on the little red skull, which started whistling as it backed out of the car. "But, he meant no harm, he was just curious is all." As the boy just stared blankly for a moment, she thought she needed to do more explaining, when an explosion of questions almost made her jump back out of the car. "You mean he's sentient? And so compact? He can fly, or levitate? Do you have more of them? Did you make him yourself? Do you work for a government agency? Are you looking for Kim, too? Does..."

"Hold it!" Charley finally got the words out, "Let me think a second. That would be 'yes' to the first four questions, a qualified 'yes' to the fifth, and 'no' to the last two." The boy was blinking, "By the way, my name's Charley Cob, who are you, this Ron you mentioned, and Kim?"

"Oh, sorry. Technology sometimes...I get carried away. I'm Wade Load, and you're in Kim's car, which Ron borrowed to go look for her."

Charley looked around, "Out here? Doesn't seem to be anything here." Wade started to say, "Not exactly." But Charley cut him off, "Oh! You mean in the underground facility beneath that mountain?"

Wade's eyes boggled. "How did you know..." he began, but was interrupted.

"BOSS!" T-Girl broadcast, "I have ordinance detected in free fall!" All four girls reacted by dropping into crouches, Charley still inside the open door of the Sloth. "Where, T-Girl? Targeted at us?" Behind her she heard Wade's voice, "Ordinance? Who was that talking? Gnnnn, I wish the external monitors were hooked up!"

"Negative! Ordinance targeted on the mountain containing that facility. Eight weapons, five in a tight cluster, three separating from the pack.!" Looking towards the mountain peak, three of the girls suddenly discerned the tiny specs representing the bombs dropping towards their target. Charley, however, looking through the magnified vision of Saul, had a clearer view of the devices. She held her breath, knowing somehow what she was about to see. Just before impact, Bright yellow-orange flames burst from the tails of the bombs, accelerating them into the rock of the mountain. "Penetrators." Charley thought, and squeezed her eyes shut, while slumping back against the Sloth.

The impacts raised small clouds of dust, indiscernible to the other girls from that distance, so it wasn't until they felt a vibration in the ground that they realized exactly what had happened. They looked at each other, a distant memory of horror showing in their eyes.

Charley became aware of a persistent voice. The fact that it was obviously not in her head made her focus on it, drawing her out of memory and back to reality. "What's happening? I just detected seismic shocks there, centered on the lair! What's going on?" Charley pulled herself together, and struggling to her feet, discarded her bracer, and began unbuttoning her blouse. "T-Girl! What damage to the facility? Do you still have life signs inside?"

"Affirmative on life signs! I count fourteen humans still alive. All main access points to the facility are blocked, those were the three bombs that separated, and the structural integrity of the main facility has been seriously weakened. There has been little outright collapse, except around the entrances." Wade Load had fallen silent, mostly because he now had a good rear view of Charley Cob peeling off her jeans, and partial views of two other girls in the background starting to undress, as well. But concern for his friends overrode hormonal distractions. "What're you doing? What can I do?"

Charley didn't react to the reminder that she was being watched at all, but started giving orders. "Boys! Get up there and find a way in, look for ventilators, any way you can get inside. T-Girl! Get over here and pick us up!" Bra in hand, she turned towards Wade, "We'll need some help up here, whatever rescue people are closest." Valiantly trying to concentrate on the girl's words rather then...other things, Wade nodded, "I'll get Global Justice moving!" Charley moved away from the open door of the Sloth towards it's rear, out of Wade's view, as she apparently skinned off her briefs. But now he had a clear view of the other two girls in range, who were nearly... then Charley slammed the car door.

"Man! If only the external sensors were still working! Arrrrgh..." A voice interrupted his rant, "Excuse me? What is this call about?" Wade realized that he already had Global Justice on the line, and blushed. Then he pulled himself together, and began filling in the GJ agent on the sitch.

Naked, Charley Cob reached in the kit bag she had set down alongside the Sloth while talking to Wade, and pulled out a bundle which she shook out into an open mesh, black bodysuit, with numerous strips of gray plastic affixed to it. Charley quickly pulled it on. At first it was baggy, but a moment's mental concentration, and it shrank to fit her snuggly, with the material thickening especially where she needed 'support', as well as at her collar, wrists, and ankles. It was obvious the strips were not placed for modesty, as they covered nothing vital in that respect. She now pulled a pair of gloves and a pair of thin shoes, both made of what appeared to be thick black latex, with several more small gray strips on them, out of the pack, and donned them. They stretched to cover the cuffs of the bodysuit.

Charley then straightened up, closed her eyes, and concentrated. She rose about two inches off the ground, and suddenly, rigid silver plates appeared all over her body, almost completely obscuring the bodysuit beneath. Plates appeared on gloves and feet as well, with a thick armored sole also materializing on the shoes. The armor configured itself to her shape, and with Charley's slight figure, she might have been mistaken for a boy, now.

The same could not be said for the Reeder twins, who still showed that they were definitely female, and JJ fell somewhere in between, though the way she moved in armor left few doubts in most minds of her gender. Her armor featured gold plates on a red bodysuit. Belle and Beth both had Navy Blue bodysuits, with Belle having silver plates, and Beth gold. JJ looked at Charley, "Weapons?"

"No." Charley was gathering her discarded clothing and stuffing it in the kit bag, from which she had already drawn an equipment belt. Her Bracer had been returned to her arm, able to accommodate the thickness change caused by the armor. "They've just been bombed! Going in there armed will increase the chances of a misunderstanding." Belt secured, she ran towards T-Girl, who had dropped her starboard hatch, a drop down ramp, and swept in about three feet above the rim of the depression, becoming visible to Wade Load through the open windows of the Sloth.

As soon as she had all four girls aboard, she pivoted and shot towards the mile distant mountain. Behind her, she left an astonished hologram of Wade Load, who was seriously wondering about which of the things he had seen in the last few minutes had been the coolest. "Oh, well, I have it all recorded, I can decide later.", he shrugged.

0000000000

Shego had turned her scarf into a dust mask, for which she was extremely grateful as she forced the office door open, despite a distorted frame. Wearing an extemporized splint on his right wrist, Drakken followed her out into the corridor connecting the laboratory area to their left and the living quarters to the right. "Bartlett? Hook? Chet? Who's still okay?" Shego called out.

"Bartlett is dead." Came Chet's voice from the direction of the labs. "So is Smith." Came from the opposite direction. It sounded like Hook. "Which one?" Someone else asked before Shego could. "Oh, Andy." was the reply. "We need help here!"came from their right. Shego and Drakken hurried towards that voice.

A section of the corridor wall had buckled, and apparently Moe, one of the least popular Henchman, had been prone alongside it at the time. Now, a piece of rebar had driven through his thigh, and into the floor beneath. He was sitting up, and clearly displaying the pain he was feeling on his face. Shego went down on one knee and examined the rebar. "Well, I can melt through it above your leg, but that might not help much if it is deep in the floor, and I can't guarantee getting you loose without some burns." Moe didn't look all that happy with the offer.

"I think Don's hurt pretty bad, too, Doctor Drakken." Chet called from slightly farther up the hall. Drakken went to see what he could do. Watching him go, Shego suddenly caught peripheral sight of a small dark object falling from an overhead vent. Locking her gaze on it, she lit her plasma. Thinking it was some kind of grenade, she intended to knock it towards the open door to her exercise room, directly across the hall from where Moe was trapped. But then the object stopped, and resolved itself as a small metal skull, covered with dust and other small debris, but apparently black underneath. It gazed at her a second, then pivoted towards a clear space in the corridor. And suddenly, a smallish figure in some kind of battle armor stood there.

"Who's the most seriously hurt?" the newcomer called out. Eyes lighting on Moe, she moved towards him, going to a kneeling position besides him as she studied some kind of display on her left forearm.

Another skull then appeared, and yet another armored figure, as well. The newly arrived skull, also dusty, but apparently of highly polished steel, zipped over to the first girl, and began scanning a very nervous Moe's leg, eyes flickering with light. "What is that!" the henchman cried out.

"Remote Medical scanner, don't be afraid," Soothed the dark haired girl, Just trying to see if your femoral artery was damaged by that." She indicated the rebar, "My name's Charley Cob, what's yours?"

"Moe."

"Okay, Moe, going to get you out of this in a minute." She looked around. "Belle!" to the just arrived Reeder sister, "Get me one of those mats out of that room, and put it here next to me." Shego, recovering her wits, asked, "What's the mat for?" Charley pointed at the ceiling, "For the guy in the ventilation shaft." Shego's eyes followed the finger, as her mind ticked back to just before the explosion. "Stoppable." As she spoke, Beth Reeder arrived, followed moments later by JJ Ko.

"Is his first name Ron?" Shego nodded, so Charley explained "Guy name Wade was worried about him." Shego's eyebrows threatened to mate with her bangs, but before she could formulate a question, Belle dropped the exercise mat on the floor next to Charley. Fred moved over to the mat, and in a blink Ron Stoppable appeared, face down, and apparently unconscious. "How badly is he hurt?" Shego asked, genuine concern barely masked in her voice. Fred's eyes flickered as he swept Ron's body from top to bottom.

"Three cracked ribs, cranial contusion, mild concussion, should be fine. Very lucky, though, the duct six feet behind him was completely collapsed." Charley turned around to look up and down the corridor. "JJ! Guy with the lacerated forehead? Roy will stop the bleeding, please clean and wrap the wound. Beth! You know how to reset a dislocated shoulder, right? That guy with the tattoo on his cheek needs help."

"You mean to say these little skulls of yours can repair tissue damage?" Doctor Drakken became visible as more dust settled. "Only Vascular, unfortunately." Charley replied. Drakken frowned, decided to save his questions, and nodded, "There is a man I believe may have severe internal abdominal bleeding over here."

"Why didn't you say so!" Charley exclaimed, looking up as Ben, who had teleported Ron out of the vent, dropped into view. "Ben! Get on that man, try and stop as much bleeding as you can." As the blue skull zipped away, something else appeared in the vent. After a moment's hesitation, Rufus leaped from the vent to Drakken's shoulder, then to the floor before the blue man could react, and ran to his master, chattering in concern.

Charley turned to Belle, "Grab those.." pointing at some barbells inside the exercise room, "remove the weights, and bring the shafts here." In answer to Shego's questioning look, she indicated the rebar. "Want to replace this with something else, on the off chance cutting it will cause more collapse from this wall."

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!" One of the henchman, whom Shego recognized as Gilbert something, came out of the settling dust from the direction of the main entrance. "It was the Government! They've decided to eliminate us! We have to get out before the ground troops arrive!" Other henchman began to look nervous. Drakken stepped towards Gilbert, "Now, now, calm down, panic is the last thing we need, believe me, I'm an expert."

"You Calm Down!" Shouted Gilbert, and gave Drakken a two-handed shove, nearly knocking him down on Don, before Chet caught him. Shego started forwards, but JJ Ko was much closer. "Calm down, Now!" she said, in a quiet, but very forceful voice. "Oh yeah? Or what?!" Gilbert shouted back.

Unable to think of anything original, JJ just went with the classic, "Or else." Gilbert's eyes bulged, and he lunged at her. Back to the fight, Charley looked up at the sound of two quick blows and the distinct sound of a body slamming into a hard surface. "Dammit, JJ, you break any more, and you get to fix them!"

Having acquired two pressure dressings from a First Aid kit, and with Fred and Saul at her side, Charley pulled a device from her belt, a flat, square case with rounded corners. Pushing a catch on it caused a sickle shaped device, six inches long, to spring out. Across the arc of the sickle, like a bowstring, stretched a very thin wire. As soon as the sickle locked into place, the wire appeared to vanish. Charley swung the device against the rebar twice, cutting a foot-long section from it, above the man's thigh. She cut a third time, more carefully, just above his skin. Then even more carefully, she felt under his leg to locate the rebar. And gingerly cut through it.

Bending the leg at the knee slightly, she wrapped both dressing around the leg, centering one dressing over each end of the rebar still embedded in his thigh. "Okay, Boys, get it out, then Fred take care of the bleeding." Fred moved closer to Moe, and focused on the injury. Suddenly, the piece of rebar from inside the wound appeared hanging in front of Saul's nose, then dropped to the floor. Charley pulled the dressings as tight as she dared, and Fred began working on Moe's leg. The whole thing was hardly painless for Moe, but he gritted his teeth and remained silent.

"Interesting. Extracting foreign objects from the body, and stopping bleeding, any other medical capabilities?" Doctor Drakken asked.

"They can reduce swelling from blunt trauma slightly. I mean, pulling splinters out painlessly, the rest...what a nine year old girl might understand..." Charley trailed off. She was studying readouts relayed from Ben. "The man with internal injuries needs hospitalization badly." As she tried to decide what to suggest next, Ron Stoppable regained consciousness.

"Wha...Owwww! Kim! No...Shego, where's Kim!?" As he twisted to look up at the pale thief while trying not to stress his injured ribs, Shego knelt down and looked him the eye. She didn't notice Saul beginning to scan her for injuries from behind.

"Haven't got the slightest idea, Stoppable, but one piece of good news, nobody is bragging about harming her in the villain world." Charley Cob, studying her readouts, frowned slightly, but then resumed her studious look.

"Ah, Man! Got to find her...can't let her get hurt again, like Go..." The boy collapsed again, but after a look around, resumed speaking. "What happened, anyway? Something blow up in the lab?"

"No, something did _not_ blow up in the lab!" Drakken began testily, but then became truly angry. "This attack came from outside."

"He's right, we saw it happen." Beth Reeder put in. Shego's eyes began to blaze with sparks of emerald fire. "Who did it?"

Charley suddenly looked up and frowned, "Why haven't we heard from T-Girl?" Ignoring Shego's and Drakken's puzzled frowns, she turned to Fred, finished with his ministrations to Moe. "Fred, environmental scan, please. Fred rose to eight feet, then began to rotate in place, While Charley studied readouts on her Bracer. After a moment, she called out, "Roy, head back out through the vents until you can get a clear signal from Thundagirl _and _us, then act as a relay." She turned to Shego and Drakken, who both stood alongside her. "We have a small Radiation problem." Both villains' eyes widened, but she shook her head, "I do mean small. We should be out before it gets dangerous for any of us."

"Get out ho...Oh, right, let me guess, same way you got in?" Shego asked. Charley nodded, "We'll be fine." Drakken gazed down the corridor towards the laboratory, "Hmm, I wonder what spilled?"

Suddenly, T-Girl**'s** voice came through clearly on Charley's comm. "Hey, Boss, I have been trying to reach you. Bet you already know you have a small health threat in there?" Without waiting for a reply, she continued, "This Wade guy says those people he called are forty minutes out; but I'm picking up more aircraft headed this way, a lot closer."

"Are they the ones who attacked the place before?" Somehow, Charley wasn't surprised the T-Girl had established independent contact with Wade Load. "_Or, was it the other way around?"_

"Negative, that was a single aircraft, beautiful stealth technology, but useless against my sensors. These are helicopters, according to the aircraft database Wade helped me upload," She sounded vaguely smug. "Anyway , what we have are ten helicopters flying in formation. First we have two known as CH-47 'Chinooks', whatever a Chinook is. Then there are four UH-60 Blackhawks, these first six are all listed as transports, boss, but these have weapons mounted. And last, we have 4 AH-64 Apaches, and they're heavily armed, but they haven't got a thing that will scratch my hide."

"Well, don't do anything that might make them want to test that, a fight will slow down rescue work. Try looking as innocent and non-threatening as possible. Oh, and can you patch through to Wade?"

"You have doubts? Hang on a minute." The villains had been growing very apprehensive as they listened to the conversation. Drakken muttered to Shego, "You think there is any chance Gilbert was right?" Shego shook her head, but Charley answered verbally first, "If they had done the bombing, surely the ground troops would have been much closer." Shego nodded in agreement, "Yeah, they wouldn't have given us any time to recover." Drakken looked vaguely reassured, but obviously still harbored doubts, "Then why are they here?" Shego shrugged. JJ Ko, however, had a suggestion.

"Maybe it was their plane that did it, but it wasn't supposed to?" The two villains looked skeptical at first, but then looked at each other with dawning acceptance in their eyes. "Could someone have stolen some experimental aircraft and used it to bomb us?" The implications of that were unsettling to both, to say the least.

"Hey, Charley!" Wade's voice came over the comm, "Are you guys all right?"

"The four of us are fine, and your friend Ron is fine, his pet is fine..." An outburst of chatter from Rufus caused Charley to do a double take, "Okaaaay, his friend is fine. But two people are dead, and two more critically injured. Oh, and we need those people to bring a decontamination unit with them, we have a slight radiation leak. So tell them, Okay?"

"Don't have to, when responding to one of Doctor Drakken's lairs, a Hazmat unit is standard for the response team." Charley looked up quizzically at a glowering Drakken, who made a sharp, dismissive gesture with his good hand before turning and stalking away. "Oh, Doctor Drakken," Charley called after him, "You have simple fractures in both wrist bones, not badly displaced." Drakken slowed, muttered a barely audible 'Thank You', and continued into his wrecked office.

0000000

Colonel Arthur Mandley, United States Air Force, was developing a mother of a headache at that moment. Riding in the back of a CH-47, he was trying to manage an operation that was becoming more and more complicated by the minute. Three hours previously, a remote-piloted, stealth-equipped, experimental bomber had stopped responding to ground control.

Any chance this might be some glitch in the system had vanished when the tracking transponders which were to track it in flight switched off abruptly. And then, nothing. Until the reports of explosions on the slopes and summit of a Colorado mountain. At which point Colonel Mandley received orders to form a team from available assets, reach and secure the scene of the bombing, and conduct an investigation to prove whether or not their plane was responsible.

Other officers were supervising attempts to re-establish control of the plane, but so far, none of the carefully prepared safety codes and commands had been acknowledged, on any frequency. Not having communicated their 'problem' with any Agency outside the Air Force, they had no information to suggest that the mountain had been a deliberate target. But now, it seemed, there were complications developing. Like an aircraft of advanced, but unidentified, design hovering near the mountain. Responses to challenges had been confusing, to say the least. A purple car had also been spotted, but whether it had anything to do with the situation was doubtful, though it's license number was being checked.

Right now, Mandley was listening to the Apache flight leader broadcasting to the strange ship.

"This is Air Force Greyhawk Flight Leader to unidentified craft, I am ordering you to land, and exit your craft." He had already requested identification twice, and received unsatisfactory answers. His gunner was already targeting the unknown craft with the Apache's 30mm Cannon. Due to the haste in organizing the mission, and doubts that they would be useful, He had no Air-to-Air ordinance aboard.

"Air Force Greyhawk Flight Leader, I say again, My designation is Thundagirl. Don't laugh, I was named by an eight-year-old. I am the 'craft', and therefore I cannot 'exit'." The middle part of the information was new, but the rest they had received before. As the four Apache gunships formed a wide arc, all facing the unknown ship, the Blackhawks behind them, as well as the two Chinooks, had started flying a racetrack pattern, rather then hanging in hover, presenting relatively stationary targets. The Blackhawks were low, staying between three and five hundred feet, while the bigger Chinooks flew a higher, and wider circle above them.

After nearly half a minute's pause, "This is Air Force Greyhawk Leader, are you claiming to be some kind of Artificial Intelligence, operating that aircraft?" In the Chinook, Mandley looked at his XO, who was also listening. Neither had seen any reason to 'coach' Greyhawk as yet.

"I am" This was followed by a muttered 'ridiculous', as Greyhawk Leader keyed his mike a second sooner then he had intended. "This is...Greyhawk Leader, that claim defies all current known technological limits. What is your country of origin, and why are you here?" There was silence for nearly a minute, and Greyhawk Leader was about to key his comm again, when Thundagirl answered.

"The answer to the first I cannot broadcast on an open frequency." If Thundagirl had eyes, she would have rolled them, "As to the second, I am supporting a rescue operation inside the mountain. If you are not willing to assist in the operation, please make way for the Global Justice aircraft who are approaching to do just that."

As Greyhawk Leader began, "Are you claiming that there are people..." Mandley turned to his XO again, while cutting off the conversation, "What the hell are those people doing here? What do they know, and do _we_ have any underground facilities in this area?" The XO started to shrug, then stopped as something came over his headset, "Sir, we have run the license number on the car, it belongs to Kimberley Ann Possible, of Middleton." Mandley's eyes widened, then he squeezed them shut, and pinched his forehead at the top of his nose. "Okay, cutting to the chase, Our aircraft bombed a Supervillain's Lair?" He opened his eyes again, looking thoughtful, "On purpose?"

"Looks that way, Sir."

Mandley nodded, "Okay, let's stop messing around! Order the Apaches to stay as they are. Tell the Blackhawks to put their troops down west of the road, on either side of our 'unknown'. I want a perimeter extending out from the mountain as far as we can do so and still keep it airtight. Land us, and the other Chinook, East of the road. The Forensics team can do with the hike to the site." As the XO and others nodded, and began to relay the orders, Mandley resumed monitoring the talk between the unknown and Greyhawk Lead. "...so, unless you have something that uses fissionable material to make a bang, I am not impressed." Mandley's eyebrows shot up under his helmet at that.

000000

Monitoring Don's condition via Ben, Charley asked Ron, "Who is this 'Kim' you came here looking for?" Both Ron and Shego frowned, with the pale thief answering, "Kim Possible." When Charley showed no recognition, Shego's frown deepened, "You've never heard of Kim Possible?"

Charley shook her head, "No. Interesting name, though." As if to explain, she added, "We just got here, haven't adjusted yet.", and shrugged apologetically.

"What! From another planet or something?" Incredulity filled Shego's voice.

"Well, actually, yes." Shego's eyes widened briefly, then narrowed. But whatever she meant to say next went unsaid at JJ Ko's question, "Charley, I don't suppose any of us think it's a coincidence that the Doctor just happened to drop us off here?" Shego's jaw dropped, and her gaze locked with Ron's, which looked equally stunned.

"Of course not, he's a Time Lord, he must have known this would happen!" Belle Reeder interjected.

"Not necessarily, Belle." Charley said, "We may simply be victims, or whatever you want to call it, of the Doctor's , hmmm, 'tendency?', to land in trouble, even when he isn't looking for it." Belle frowned, and JJ looked no less skeptical, but seemed to accept that reasoning. Charley looked up at Shego, "You said something about nobody bragging about hurting her...Oh! I'm sorry, I haven't scanned you for injuries! Ben, do the honors, please?"

Shego frowned as the little blue skull began his scan, "Not necessary, I'm not hurt much, and I heal faster then normal. As to Kim, there has been no mention of her from any of the sources I have access to, and killing her would be worth bragging about, at least to the people she generally fights." Charley nodded as she read her readouts. "Fights? What does she do, exactly?" She sent Ben away with a nod.

"She's a Hero." Ron answered, "She...We fight against Evil, and help people." Charley's eyebrows raised slightly, then she smiled and nodded, "Sounds like a good person to know." Ron smiled back, though a little dubiously. Then a thought struck him, "Are you some kind of Hero, Charley?"

Still smiling, she shook her head, "No, Ron, I...I just like to help people, too." Shego caught an eyeroll from Belle Reeder at that. "_Was she lying? No, I can read people better then that. Just modest, then? Maybe Kimmie has a kindred spirit, here."_

Ron, who had rolled over gingerly on to his back, now checked his Ronnunicator. "Hey, Wade! Global Justice here yet?" The signal , relayed through Roy and T-Girl, brought the beaming face of Wade Load onto the screen. "Just landing now, Ron! The Air Force has landed their troops, they're forming a perimeter. Also, some State Troopers have blocked the road in both directions, not sure who requested that."

"Wade?" Charley asked, "As soon as the decontamination unit is set up, I'll start teleporting people out, starting with the most seriously hurt."

"And ending with me!" Shego said, with a bit more emphasis then she had meant. At Charley's quizzical look, she elaborated, "I _do not_ want to share a Decon shower with Doctor D! Trust me, neither would you."

Charley nodded, "All Right, but since the four of us are going last, I guess all us girls will be in the shower together." Shego nodded grudgingly, then noticed a glazed look in Ron's eyes, "Since he's already concussed, Does it matter if I smack him?"

0000000000

"How come a civilian outfit can have fully functional tilt-engine technology, and the Marine Corps..." Mandley caught his XO's eye, "Ah, never mind. 'Not Made Here', Right?"

The XO nodded, "Pretty Much." They stood about a hundred yards from the collapsed main entrance to the lair, as the GJ aircraft landed within the Air Force perimeter. As their tail ramps dropped, Mandley took a look up at the still hovering Thundagirl. "Still want an explanation for _That, _maybe GJ will have it?" His XO shrugged, "Hopefully." Another officer ran up at this point.

"Colonel Mandley! Sir!" He held up some photos to show the Colonel, "According to the satellite images, the attack was carried out with absolutely pinpoint accuracy! That at least is exciting news about the project! All three entrances to this 'lair' thing were blocked, and a nice massed strike was delivered, to cause the maximum internal damage possible! All at once! Oh, and chemical analysis says they were definitely our bombs, Sir!" He seemed surprised, and a bit nervous, to see the incredulous, then angry, look on Mandley's face.

"It would be a _whole lot_ more exciting, if someone else didn't have control of the aircraft! And, I am not going in front of a board of Military and civilian officials and say it _was _our aircraft, without a little more proof!"

"Would a three-dimensional image of the attacking plane be sufficient proof?" The voice came from overhead, causing Mandley to hurt his neck from the speed with which he looked up. Trying to massage it, he looked at Thundagirl incredulously, "You saw the aircraft? Actually _saw it?"_

"Oh yes, as I told Charley, wonderful stealth technology, but no match for my sensors." Mandley's jaw dropped as she continued, "You have to wait for Charley to come out, so I can either let you in, or show you the image on her bracer." As his racing mind tried to pick a question to ask, Mandley heard another voice speak from behind him. "I take it you are the officer in charge?" Mandley turned to find himself facing Doctor Betty Director, head of the North American Division of Global Justice.

"_Taller in person, drats!"_ Mandley drew himself up to his full five feet, eight inches, and still lost the height battle by two. Again sorting questions in his head, he politely replied, "Colonel Arthur Mandley, United States Air Force, at your service, Doctor Director." As she nodded politely, he pointed upwards, "Can you offer an explanation for _that?!_"

"That depends. Have you ever met an individual who called himself 'The Doctor'?" Mandley looked stunned for a second, then squeezed his eyes shut as he asked, "Is he here?"

Doctor Director smirked, "_I see you have..." _"No, actually, he just dropped some friends off." Mandley opened his eyes, gazed briefly skywards as if giving thanks, then looked Betty in the eyes, "And this isn't a UNIT thing either, I take it?" Betty shook her head. He nodded abruptly, "Good! This is complicated enough!" Betty nodded in sympathy, then looked up at the hovering ship speculatively for a moment, before turning to check the progress of her people in setting up the Decontamination Unit. "_Glad I came in person, Mandley being here means this wasn't a normal situation. No point in wasting my breath asking, though, It will be a matter of National Security, of course."_

It took another fifteen minutes to completely prepare the DU. According to instructions, two GJ doctors, with an Air Force paramedic watching, set up a stretcher near the tent's entrance. With only the GJ personnel in Hazmat suits, the paramedic was forced to keep a respectful distance. When a small red skull flew up and hovered over the end of the stretcher, the men took a step back, but when Don appeared on the stretcher, they immediately went to work, checking his visible injuries and vital signs while preparing him to go through the DU. Moe was next out, again teleported onto a stretcher. After that, the remaining henchmen began to come, two at a time after Ben also came out of the Lair.

GJ agents in Hazmat suits did perfunctory searches of the walking wounded, and then escorted them through in pairs, which slowed the process down somewhat, as there were only eight suited GJ agents available for this task. Other were inside, of course, administering the Decontamination treatment.

After all the henchmen who had survived were out, first Doctor Drakken, then Ron, and finally Rufus, were brought out. Doctor Director returned a wave from Ron, as the teenager was assisted into the DU.

When no one else appeared for several minutes, Doctor Director contacted Wade, "Wade, is anything wrong?" The tiny Wade on her wrist screen shook his head, "No, Doctor Director, they're just waiting for all the men to go through." Betty grimaced slightly at having missed the obvious. "Okay, Wade, Thanks."

"Where did you meet the Doctor, Doc...err, you know?" Mandley asked suddenly, surprising her.

"Oh, a very long time ago, I met Drew Lipsky, Doctor Drakken now, and James and Anne Possible then, though this was before their marriage. I was a rookie agent, not in Global Justice then, but in the agency that became their North American branch?" Mandley nodded, "Well, Lipsky and Possible were college students, and _a_ Doctor?" Mandley nodded his understanding of that inference, "Suddenly showed up with one of his usual, well, Crisis?" another nod, "And roped about six science students, including Possible and Lipsky, into helping him. I was there doing surveillance on one of them, and ended up involved as well. I remember Anne, all done up for a date, which in the crisis had naturally slipped Jim's mind, having to get out of the way as our cavalcade went past her."

She broke off as Shego materialized, causing an involuntary leap back by three of her agents, which the thief viewed with her usual smirk. The Reeder twins then popped in, and entered the tent, followed quickly by Charley and JJ, and the boys, who went through in a group, hovering around Charley's shoulders. "Anyway, what about you, where did you meet him?" She interpreted the look she got back easily enough and cut the reply off with"I know, _classified!"_

Inside the tent, Shego tried to ignore the fact that the GJ agent hosing her down was certainly male, and instead studied her other tent mates. "_Damn, they're just kids! In pretty good shape, though. Charley has as little figure as Kim, though the twins are pretty well built for their age, and that 'JJ'? Well, natural redhead, and has some good fight moves, as well."_ She became irritated suddenly, and looked at the agent's faceplate. "I have been through this before, you know, and I didn't get that particular shot with the hose the other times!" If there was any further proof needed that Shego had had an attitude adjustment, it was that her reaction was purely verbal, fortunately for the Agent.

Fifteen minutes later, having changed into their regular clothes, recovered from T-Girl, JJ and the Reeder twins watched as Charley showed Colonel Mandley and Doctor Director the interior of the ship.

Mandley had insisted on seeing the image of the attacking plane alone, though he wondered what the point of that was, unless he could get control of T-Girl. But Doctor Director had anticipated him, and already convinced higher-ups that the four girls should be taken under GJ's wing, in case anyone might happen to get nervous about such advanced technology being in the hands of one country. Flimsy as that reasoning was, she pulled it off, and T-Girl, declaring herself a sentient entity, vowed to accompany the girls, period. Her statement that she could have them all in any other country on Earth in the blink of an eye, if she so chose, also carried weight.

Mandley wasn't that easily deterred, but after consulting some of the experts brought to the site for the investigation, and hearing what feeble results they got by trying to get information about the sentient ship with their available instruments, He decided not to push it, at least, not without contacting his superior, General Dray.

One GJ aircraft had already departed with the wounded, including Drakken. After seeing Shego and the other henchmen loaded aboard the second craft, Doctor Director turned to Charley, "I would like you to come back on my ship, I need to talk to you all." She looked at Thundagirl, "She can follow on her own, of course." Charley nodded acquiescence. Just then, a GJ tech walked up with the girl's armor in a carrying case. "No sign of any radiation on these at all, Ma'am." Her brow furrowed, "Everyone else's clothes had some traces, but these are completely clean." after receiving an affirmative nod from the Director, she handed the case to Charley, who told the Director, " I will put these on Thundagirl, then we can go, okay?" Betty nodded assent, and Charley popped aboard the ship, put the case in a locker in the large central bay, and exited again, with T-Girl closing the ramp as she left.

The four girls, and the 'boys', then followed Doctor Director aboard the third GJ craft. About half the GJ personnel were remaining behind, for the moment. As the craft rose into the sky, the senior agent left on site turned to an Air Force Master Sergeant, and indicating the collapsed entrance, "That's going to be fun to dig out, especially in NBR equipment."

The Sergeant looked surprised, "Not going to just seal it off with Concrete and leave it?" The GJ man shook his head, "No way, we have to find out what Drakken left in there. He usually remembers to blank his mainframe, because he has a back-up somewhere he updates. Automatic promotion for any GJ agent who finds that! But right now, we have to search that place. As soon as you guys are done and clear, we will get started."

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As this conversation was taking place, footsteps could be heard echoing in the abandoned lair. They were metallic, ringing lightly on the concrete floors as they moved through the darkness. Heading in to the area of the Laboratory where Drakken's computers sat, an apparently armored figure pulled a small, barely six inches square object from a compartment of his armor. He disconnected the dead power line from the computer, and plugged the small box into it. The computer came immediately to life, and the figure began to try and access it's data. After a few minutes however, the figure stopped, muttered an unintelligible curse, and jerked the box out again, plunging the computer, and the room, back into darkness. "Well," Came a disgusted voice, "That was a lot of effort for nothing."

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Please, Read and Review,


	3. Health Matters

**Kim's appearance will be delayed only by this short bit below, another re-interpretation of Canon, where Shego always seemed to escape custody at will.**

**Again, I Disclaim ownership of Kim Possible, or any characters from that series, or any other media I may reference in my writings.**

**I may be out of date in my knowledge of certain comic 'universes', please make allowances, if you know better.**

Doctor Betty Director, head of Global Justice's North American Division, hung up one of the phones on her desk, and looked across it at her aide, Abby Hogan. "The handover just took place, now we just wait for the inevitable."

Abby shook her head slowly as she commented sourly, "Rules and Regulations." A still beautiful blond of about fifty, Abby had been a field agent in GJ, and it's predecessor, for almost twenty years before accepting a job as Betty's aide. Now she switched topics, musing aloud "Betts, do you ever wish our GJ was like Ron Stoppable's creation? Supersonic Hover jets, tight jumpsuits, etc.?"

Doctor Director assumed a looked of well-feigned horror. "The jumpsuits? Definitely not! I have enough to worry about without wondering how my butt looks in tight pants!" She exchanged grins with Abby. "As to the rest? I wish it was all as simple as he portrays it. Mind you, I do wish he would let up on Will Du, there's no reason for his vindictiveness, just because Will hurt Kim's feelings, once."

"But, instead we have to put up with situations like we have now." Abby replied, withholding comment on Will Du, feeling less charitable towards the stiff-necked agent. "And, we have no chance of changing it any time soon, do we?"

Betty Director shook her head, "Any suggestion that we want to run our own detention facility will never go past the various Governments we need to appease to stay in business. Like most Police Agencies, they'll only let us have limited detention powers. The fact that we are international in scope makes it hard to justify any detention at all, most Governments want any of their nationals we arrest turned over to their own justice systems. Oh course, whatever country we make the arrest in gets first claim, and so many villains have exploited that, by committing lesser crimes in countries they like to hide in, so those countries will stop our extraditing them easily, it's almost a waste of time to try arresting them at all."

She leaned back and looked at the ceiling. Abby had heard it all before, but it helped blow off steam to express her frustrations aloud. "In this case, Shego. We have to honor any request by any American law enforcement agency that wishes to interview her regarding their own ongoing investigations. But, due to the 'Top Secret' status of our facilities, we can't let their officers come to our holding facility to do the interview." She frowned, "A teenage heroine and her sidekick have clearance, but rank and file Agents from other Agencies don't." She brought her seat upright again, "So, we have to make Shego available to these agencies, who don't have the equipment to handle her, despite what they seem to say _every _time we do this. So, Shego gets moved from our holding cells, which _might _hold her, to whatever facilities the requesting agency has. And, again to protect our 'Secrecy', we don't transport her all the way, but hand her off halfway, so no nosy reporter spots any of our agents being involved in the move." The last was laced with sarcasm. "Can't even fly cover for the other agency's operation."

The Phone suddenly buzzed. Sighing, Betty Director picked it up, and after a brief eyeroll, tried to keep her voice as neutral as possible. "Yes? I see. Of course, we'll make every effort to assist you in recovering her. Did you have any injuries? I see. Well, that's getting off easy, where Shego is involved...Yes, I will have my Team leader contact you. Goodbye."

Before she had even hung up, Abby was punching buttons on a different phone. "Ted? She's loose, get back there and help the locals try and find her. Yep, she waited just long enough for them to tell her all the reasons she wasn't getting away this time. Okay, report if you get lucky." Hanging up, she sat back and found herself exchanging bemused looks with Doctor Director.

"Well, that's done." Betty remarked "Back to business as usual. Any interest in Doctor Drakken?" Betty asked.

"If you mean, any requests to interview him, No. But, something weird has cropped up on the dark side of the Internet." She worked a minute with Betty's desktop, then turned the screen so her boss could read it. Betty read, with a frown deepening by the minute. "Get Drakken up here, Abby." She ordered sharply.

Abby favored her with a raised eyebrow. "Up here? Don't want to meet him in an Interrogation Room?"

Betty shook her head, "No, I have a call due any minute, I can't take it away from my desk." Now both of Abby's eyebrows rose, this was news to her, but she withheld comment as she rose and left.

When she returned with another Agent escorting Drakken in twenty-five minutes later, Betty Director was just finishing her call, a sour look on her face. She sharply gestured for Drakken to sit, then took a minute to compose herself before speaking. "Doctor Drakken, can you explain this?" She showed the blue scientist the same website Abby had shown her.

Drakken frowned at first as he read, but then began to smile, "Ah, I see things are already in motion! I'm so glad my arrest didn't delay anything."

Betty scowled, "You're actually auctioning off almost everything you own, related to your villainous activities? Planning to retire?"

Drakken shook his head, "Oh, No, I merely decided to start again from scratch, as it were." He paused thoughtfully, "No more Hovercraft of my own design, with unique energy signatures, that Wade Load used to track my movements for years..." He smiled slightly as Betty's eyes narrowed, "Oh, there are so many things from the past that proved to be millstones around my neck. Time to rid myself of them."

Betty struggled to keep her face from betraying her thoughts. "_And that probably includes any equipment of yours we've managed to tag over the years, as well as the computer components we arranged for you to buy that let us monitor some of your activities..." _Again she kept her voice as neutral as possible."I see. Well, _If_ you manage to find the opportunity to actually carry out this 'starting from scratch', I can see how your dumping all your old material might be an advantage."

"Please, 'dumping' is such a rough word, I prefer the term 'clearance sale'." Drakken was grinning broadly now.

"Call it what you wish." Betty replied dismissively, then looked at Drakken's escort, "Return Doctor Drakken to his cell."

After Drakken had been led out, Abby looked curiously at Doctor Director, "Can he be wising up that much?"

Her boss sighed quietly. "Actually, I'm surprised he didn't catch on to the hovercraft thing earlier. Nobody can overlook the obvious quite like Drew Lipsky, but this may have been a record." Betty shook her head, "We may have serious problems with him if he gets out, he seems to be growing up. By the way, anything more on the bombing of his lair?"

Abby shook her head, "Not so far." She hesitated before indulging her curiosity. "Phone call good news?"

Betty Director sat back in her chair, a grim look on her face. "No, not at all. Some people are starting to make noise about too many International Agencies again." Seeing Abby roll her eyes, she added sternly, "Don't take this lightly, the last time they got serious about this, U.N.C.L.E., CONTROL, and the O.S.I. all went out of business! And there are some serious people involved this time, according to my source. We're right at the top of their list to cut, along with SHIELD, mostly because of the winning personalities of myself and you-know-who." She paused, "They think we'll have the hardest time defending against a purely political attack."

"Are we running equal with them, as far as being cut?" This time Abby showed some concern in her voice.

Betty shook her head, "Not really, SHIELD has a major corporate supplier of new tech, we don't. Mind you, if they crash that Headquarters of their's a couple more times, we might get ahead." Betty shook her head, and surged to her feet. "Never mind that, let's go see how our 'guests' are getting along."

Abby smirked, "Well, so far, they've been more of a frustration then anything else."

"I think I knew that was going to be the case when I took them in." Betty frowned, "I do seem to have a weakness for idealistic teenage girls, what I never had a chance to be..."

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"Kimberley, time to rise, little one." the voice came faintly to Kim at first, pushing through the pain-laced fuzzy state that had passed for sleep for her recently. Her brain tried to make sense of it, trying to match the voice with a face. Not her Mother, and who else was there? She felt a hand behind her head, lifting it from the pillow. She came more awake, and tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids seemed stuck together. "A moment, Kimberley." came the voice again. "_Eliana?"_ Something soft, soaked in warm liquid, brushed across her right eye. Her eyelids became unstuck after a few strokes, and the attention was transferred to her left eye. "_Doctor Chosa?" _As soon as she could open both eyes, she did so.

Eliana Chosa smiled down at her, but Kim could see the worry in those eyes. She knew that was motivated by her appearance, which she couldn't help but believe had become more gaunt and sickly then when she had last had the nerve to look in a mirror. "I am sorry to wake you so early, Kimberley, but it is treatment day, we need to get some food in you and give it a chance to digest before giving you your medicine." Kim's eyes went to the peripheral IV tube in the back of her right hand. "And, we will have to change the location of your IV again today, as well."

The girl nodded carefully. Every movement brought a little pain at the very least, her muscles had stiffened again during sleep. For the hundredth time, the thought that this whole sitch was bogus, that Shego had made the whole thing up for some nefarious purpose, rose in her mind. But, she suppressed it again. She knew it was no hoax or trick, she knew about the whitened area on her chest, from mid-sternum down, spreading to the left beneath her breast. She remembered the fight where the chemicals had splashed there, an accident caused by Ron, in what was actually a rare occurrence for him, or at least rarer then he depicted in his stories.

The chemical had splashed on other parts of her body, too. In fact, she had slipped and fallen in it, but only the chest area had subsequently gotten close to Shego's ignited plasma, and that was why she was facing the possibility of a slow and painful death, or at the very least, permanent damage to her nervous system. Shego had figured it out after becoming suspicious of the behavior of a couple of the onlookers to the fight.

Kim also remembered the fight well enough. The Plant Manager had shouted to tell her not to worry, the chemical was completely harmless, as soon as he saw her exposed. But, Shego had also seen a worried looking man, the one who had escorted Kim and Ron when they arrived, whisper something in the Manager's ear, right after she and Kim had broken apart, and the Manager's face had assumed a worried expression. But he had said nothing to Kim afterwards about any concerns, just smiled and thanked her for her efforts.

Shego had later found the likely cause for his silence. The chemical had been a derivative of a nasty nerve agent, rendered harmless and usable as a base for other applications. But, exposure to some types of radiation apparently made it deadly again, in a variety of ways, depending on the type of radiation involved. Shego's plasma gave off radiation, but fortunately it didn't damage organic tissue, or Kim herself would probably be glowing in the dark by now, or perhaps melting away slowly from her frequent exposure to it.

As Eliana raised her up to a sitting position, Kim reflected on the fact that she was certainly in a beautiful place to be sick in, if she had to be sick. The bed she was in was a beautifully made four-posted, canopied one. The room had an old-fashioned look to it, like she would have imagined one in an old time _hacienda _would appear. Two doors on opposite sides of the far end of the room led respectively to a small balcony, on the left, and the second floor hallway, on the right. The latter door had an old-fashioned transom above it, currently open to help air circulation. A third door to the right of the bed led into a private bathroom.

The scent of flowers would waft in the outer door in the afternoon, but right now, with dawn just breaking, the air was still. Two bureaus and a pair of chairs, as well as a small table holding a vase filled with tropical flowers in it, completed the furnishings.

The only problem with such beautiful surroundings was that it was hard to appreciate them when one spent most of the day nauseous. The first bout of the day hit Kim as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, slowly, wincing as the ache in them intensified briefly. Eliana stood ready to catch her as she eased her feet to the floor, and pushed herself off the bed, into an upright position. Her head swam briefly, and Eliana took her arm, but she steadied. The ironic thing about her misery was, it wasn't the disease causing it, it was the cure. And it was the nature of the cure that required her to be here, far from home, trusting herself to an ex-enemy, and a doctor acquaintance from Shego's childhood.

Eliana Chosa was a fiftyish, Sturdy woman with the sort of kind face, and motherly demeanor that would put most people at ease in her care. Kim herself would have a hard time mistrusting her by her appearance, and her treatment of the girl since she had arrived here had been above reproach. She was a native of the Yucatan, where this house was located, though she had lived in the United States and practiced medicine there for twelve years, including a five-year stint in Go City, where among her duties was looking after the children at a certain orphanage.

She now helped Kim carefully move around the bed to the hallway door. Kim had insisted, as long as she was able, to eat downstairs in the normal dining area. "Do you want to use the bathroom first, Kimberley?" Kim shook her head, "After breakfast, maybe. I don't seem to need to go very often, lately." Eliana nodded, and helped the girl into the hall. All the second floor areas had hardwood floors, Well varnished, and well maintained. The upper hallway was open on one side, overlooking the first floor living room, with a carved wooden railing in sections between stone columns. To Kim's right as she emerged, the hallway made a left-hand turn, and ended at the door to Shego's room. To her left, it passed the door to Doctor Chosa's room before reaching the stairs. The wooden rail gave her occasional support as she moved to the head of the stairs. A touch of vertigo came and went as she came to the top step, and she was able to navigate the wide steps to the first floor on her own, though Eliana kept her hand on the girl's elbow.

What should have been a wonderful aroma of cooking food instead caused her nausea to return, and she leaned more on the doctor as they approached the dining table. A young girl named Inez was doing the cooking, and she smiled when she looked up to see them approaching, though the smile slipped a bit when she looked at Kim. "_Buenos __Días__,_ Kim..." The break was obvious, until yesterday, she would have added '...you are looking better today', or something polite and encouraging, but she could no longer say such things without stammering over the words, so she didn't try.

Kim's diet for the moment was limited to eggs, soft _tortillas_, and water. Even milk caused her problems, when the medicine entered her system. The fact she only received treatment every other day was partially a blessing, but she would have preferred to get things over with as soon as possible. But, her body couldn't take daily doses of the medicine, it was far too harsh on her system. And, if she wanted a reason to worry more, it was also experimental in nature. And not yet approved for use by the usual regulatory agencies, hence the current sitch. That thought brought Shego's words back to her, loud and clear.

"_Kimmie, listen! Your Mother _cannot _treat you with this stuff, not without losing her license, or maybe even going to prison. You're still a minor, emancipated or not." _The origin of the drug in question also failed to make Kim comfortable with the sitch, despite Shego's qualified reassurance. "_Okay, Adrian Pharm is a criminal genius, but he follows the Hippocratic Oath when it comes to treating people. He doesn't always consider himself a criminal, and when he comes across something beneficial when researching his projects, he develops it, and tries to get it to the public. 'Tries' being the operative word, of course, there is a certain amount of resistance to accepting anything he comes up with for public use."_

Kim had heard of Adrian Pharm, though she had never gone against him, mostly because he developed things that other criminals used, and only became active himself in pursuit of a personal vendetta he had against the French and German Governments. 'Better Crime through Chemistry' was a motto he supposedly used, though there was some doubt about that. She also suspected she had been exposed to one of his concoctions on at least one previous occasion.

As Inez set her plate before her, Kim took a moment to settle herself before taking up a fork and beginning to eat. She had no appetite, but she knew she needed to eat, so she just forced herself through the meal. As she ate, she looked to Doctor Chosa, who was eating a more appealing breakfast, though one Kim knew she herself couldn't keep down. "Are we expecting Sh...Ana to show up today?" She asked.

Eliana shrugged expansively, "I have no idea, Kimberley. I haven't heard from her in four days. And, you may call her Shego, if you wish. She will always be Anastasia to me, but you are used to her other name, that Henry gave her."

"How long did you actually know her?"

"I met her when she was twelve, two years before the incident. After she became a Ward of the City, other doctors looked after her, but I still managed to see her, mainly because she desired it." She frowned as another memory came to her. "They didn't like her, or the boys, having certain 'friends'. It may have hastened my departure from America. But, Ana came to me six years ago. She decided to build a house here." She waved her fork to encompass their surroundings, "And insisted I move into it two years ago, after my old home was wrecked during a hurricane." She looked at Kim, "You were here then, too, helping the victims." Kim nodded, remembering, "Ana pointed you out to me," Kim's eyes widened, "and said you were a 'major pain' to her."

Kim had to take a moment to digest a mouthful of eggs, before asking, "You mean, Shego was here then?"

Eliana nodded, "She was worried about me, and after she made sure I was okay, she helped others." At Kim's doubtful look, she shrugged, "I may have had to 'encourage' her, but she _did_ help, truly." She paused to drink some water, then went on, "She has changed, you know. After the 'Comet' incident, I could see the girl I knew becoming a stranger, and it seemed to be against her own will, if you can believe that." Kim nodded. "Well, now that girl is back, not quite the same, more mature, certainly, but the...'evil' in her doesn't show in every other word or gesture. You can trust her, little one, I am certain of it."

Plate finished, Kim leaned back in her chair, and sighed, "Obviously, I do, to some extent. I mean, I let her bring me here without telling anyone I love what was happening, leaving them to worry about me." She looked down at her hands, guiltily, "I don't know what Mom would say if she knew what was happening. I know what she would have done if she had to decide whether to save me and suffer the consequences, or watch me suffer and hope that drug was approved for use before I died." Kim's eyes were wet as she looked up. "I _know_ what she would have done, and I couldn't let her do it." a pause, "But, I don't think she would forgive me for just doing this and not giving her the choice. I know that sounds weird, but..." She trailed off.

ELiana shook her head, smiling gently. "It is not 'weird' at all, Kimberley. She loves you, and she might see it as being deprived of a chance to prove that to you, or perhaps, a sign you wouldn't trust her to make the very decision you are certain would have been her choice. A sign that you might believe she would not risk herself for you."

"But she would!" Kim, wiping tears from her cheeks, answered, "But, you're right, she may think I doubted her. There was no choice I could have made that wouldn't have hurt someone. But, I would rather she be hurt, and I hate saying that, then have her ruin her career, and I do know, and I mean _Know_, that I am more important to her, she doesn't have to prove it to me!"

"Will you talk to her of this when you return home?"

Kim slowly shook her head, "I don't know. It might be better if she didn't know at all. And Ron, that he was the cause of...half the cause of my condition. But, I don't know how to deal with the sitch, if we don't have enough medicine to cure me. Shego said what we have is all there is, and Doctor Pharm probably won't be making any more. She said if things looked bad, she could try and 'persuade' Pharm to make more, but he doesn't react normally to such things. And, it would be dangerous, even for her, so, I told her not to try."

Eliana's eyes widened slightly, but then a half-smile appeared on her lips, "Do you think that will stop her?"

"Yes, because I made her give her word on it." Kim replied. Eliana's smile vanished, "And I believe she is now a woman of her word, right?" Eliana considered briefly, then nodded. "If there isn't enough Medicine, I asked her to take me back to Middleton, and let me face my Family with this. I feel like I have betrayed them in a way, by turning my back on them and coming here, rather then letting them help me, even though there is nothing they could do." Kim sighed, "It's the kind of family we are, after all."

Eliana Chosa nodded slowly, "You will be back with them soon, Kimberley, and you will be well when you go."

Kim, eyes still damp, smiled, "I hope so, after all, anything is possible..."

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Doctor Director entered the office of her current Head Scientist, Raymond Laird. 'Current', that is, because Betty Director had a self confessed tendency to go through Scientists at a rapid rate. Exactly why this should be, she couldn't answer, but she seemed to have the least patience with them of all the personnel under her command. If that reputation had reached Laird, or bothered him, he didn't show it as he looked up from his desk and greeted her. "Ah, Doctor Director, I've been expecting you. Curious about our four, no, five, or maybe even nine, guests?"

"As a matter of fact, Doctor, I am. Have you anything to tell me?"

"Certainly, Ma'am, please have a seat." He waited as Betty took one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Where would you like to begin? I warn you, no matter where you start, you won't be happy with all the answers." Betty's quirked an eyebrow at him, then nodded, "Very Well, shall we begin with the ship?"

"Ah, Thundagirl**.** Well, where to begin? On the negative side, we can't hope to copy her. Actually, we lack the science to properly analyze many of her systems, too far advanced over our own."

"That's very unfortunate, a few ships like her would be very useful." Betty considered her next question, "What about this 'Translocation ability of hers?"

Laird actually rubbed his hands together as he replied. "Very impressive. With your consent, we already took a trip to Antarctica and back, just about an hour ago."

Betty's eyebrows raised. "I said you could take her for a short trip, and you go to the South Pole?"

Laird smiled and shrugged, "For her, anyplace on Earth is a 'short' trip. She does have to initiate her 'jumps' from a standing start on solid ground, which limits her, but she can launch from inside a building, if desired. She also says she can operate underwater, and even in vacuum, but she doesn't have facilities for EVA in space, or even an airlock for underwater use, though she can pressurize her central bay enough to open the ventral hatch underwater."

"And she can carry eight adults on a jump, total? There's no way we can manage more?"

Laird held his hand in a 'wait' gesture. "Well, one bit of good news is we can duplicate the transit tubes people have to occupy during Translocation, but installing more aboard her might be difficult, due to the arrangement of her internal power systems. We can, of course, put auxiliary power units aboard to power additional tubes."

"I noticed that the tubes aren't completely enclosed." Betty observed.

"Not necessary for them to be." Laird replied, "The key to their operation is an energy field that they generate, which lifts the occupant out of contact with any surfaces during the jump, preventing any accidental 'bonding' of their flesh with said surfaces." He idly toyed with a pencil as he talked, "All non-organic material not bonded with a passenger's teeth, or skeleton, has to be removed before they get in the tube. So, your dental work is fine, a plate screwed to one of your bones is too, but something like a woman with certain...enhancements, would be bad."

"And the consequences of say, forgetting to remove your wedding ring?" Was Betty's next question.

Laird smiled grimly. "Ah! Well if you're lucky, you'll find it rattling around the bottom of the tube after the jump. IF you aren't so lucky, you may need an X-Ray or Ultrasound to locate it, and possibly surgery to recover it."

Fingering her eye-patch absently, Betty changed to another subject. "How fast is she, in normal travel?"

Laird actually consulted some notes, "Well, top level speed is only 295 knots. According to her, her speed is directly related to the strength of a planet's gravitational field. But, contrary to what I would have thought, the stronger the field, the faster she is." He tapped his pencil for emphasis, "On the other hand, she's quite tough, her armor is stronger then any Main Battle Tank currently in service, and she can operate in hurricane force winds with no difficulty."

Betty took time to consder that before asking her next question, "Is she armed, or can she be armed?"

Laird shook his head. "No, all her current systems are defensive in nature, and she has no place where we can install armament."

"And there's nothing we can do as far as duplicating her 'Translocation' abilities?"

"Now, I didn't say that, exactly." Laird replied, which caused Betty to look up, frowning slightly, "We just can't do it the same way as she does. We can build similar 'jump' engines, but they'd require fuel, and very expensive fuel, at that." He clarified.

"Well, I suppose if we had worldwide capability, it would make too many governments nervous, anyway." Betty reasoned thoughtfully, "And the ship wouild have to be able to hover automatically after jumping, long enough for the crew to take control?"

Laird nodded enthusiastically, "That's a simple matter of programming an auto-pilot." Another thought struck him. "And, before you ask, we can't duplicate her sensors, either."

Betty rolled her one eye, "Of course not! Well, what about the girls? What can you tell me about them, and their personal equipment?"

"Well, they are all just shy of eighteen years of age, biologically. Took us a while to work out the differences between our time increments and the one's from their home world with them. Our Behaviorists believe that the accounts they have given of their lives to this point are truthful. They also report that any PTSD issues any of them may have had appear to have been resolved. They are remarkably well-adjusted, and adaptable. The only sour note is that one of our doctors thinks that Charley has some signs of burn-out, and possibly depression, but only a mild case."

Betty nodded. "She has expressed some doubts about being their leader, am I correct? If so, do you think it's those responsibilities that are the cause of her problems?"

Laird nodded. "Very possibly, she likes to think of herself as the team 'medic', and says it's impossible to divide her attention between taking care of casualties, and guiding the team. The others say she has managed to do so, however, on several occasions. But, even they think that Miss Cob puts too much strain on herself."

"And none of the others feels like stepping in?" Betty asked.

Laird shook his head, "Ko is a good team player, who can also go solo successfully, but she isn't a leader. And neither are the twins, at least at this point."

Betty nodded her acceptance of that judgment. "Okay, what about physically? What about these modifications they say were done to them?"

"Well, for Charley, one EEG proved her brain had been altered, but we have no clue how it was done, and no hope of duplicating it. We have proven her assertions of her mental abilities as far as we are able, though."

"What do we know about their equipment? Begin with the guns."

"They're focused energy weapons, but of an extremely advanced design. They have variable settings, and can create several different effects, based on how they are set. Their component materials are fascinating, but again, beyond our ability to duplicate. Now, shall we talk about the armor they wear? Not much I can tell you, though." Betty looked up and nodded. "Very well, this is what we know. The 'Plates' are actually some kind of energy absorption matrix, rather then 'solid' objects, generated every time the armor is donned. They can absorb a number of types of energy, including kinetic, and convert it to another form, similar to electricity, which passes into the undersuit to help power the plates, with the excessive being discharged between the plates whenever the amount absorbed gets too high." He sighed, "And that concludes what we have learned to date. Now the question is, what do we do with them?"

"You didn't mention the skulls, Charley's 'Boys'."

"Nothing to say, other then they might, by Earth standards, be 'indestructible'. The Red one, Roy, with all the curiosity?" Betty nodded, "Well, he 'wandered' into a machine that really should have turned him to dust..." Betty's eye widened slightly, "Yes, that one. Didn't do a thing." Laird shook his head, "Not even a blemish! Anyway, you already know Miss Cob can see through their eyes, and they are practically unrestrained unless we make a point of it. As to my question?"

"I haven't decided yet." Betty replied shortly, then looked at the monitors, "What is Charley studying, anyway?"

"She's been all over the Internet, especially looking up all the people she's met, or heard of. Shego, Drakken, Stoppable, Kim Possible...Even you, I think." He looked at the dark haired girl on the monitor, "Only the public stuff, of course."

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Shego's Yucatan house was 'L'-shaped, with the long member running north-south, with the shorter extending west. Inside the 'L' was the garden area, with paths made from hexagonal-cut red and white stones separating six eight foot by twelve foot gardens, each surrounded by foot-high redbrick walls, containing myriad local flowers and small trees. These were being tended at the moment by two men from the nearby village, roughly a mile and a half away down a small dirt track to the southwest. One hundred yards north of the house was a small landing pad, suitable for helicopters, or Shego's private plane. A hangar was there as well, since leaving her plane out where Wade Load might spot it if he got lucky with a satellite was certainly a bad idea.

On the East side of the house, along which the balcony of Kim's room was located, was a swimming pool, set into a patio of the same red and white hexagonal stones, surrounded by a seven foot redbrick wall, covered with flowering vines, with a small arched entry on it's East side, leading to a path that led into the surrounding hills, and another gate alongside the house, leading to another path to the landing pad.

Kim laid back on a lounge chair alongside the French doors that led into the dining area/kitchen, a wide brimmed straw hat pulled low to shade her face from the sun. After breakfast, she had bathed, with Eliana's necessary help, and put on another variation of her standard wardrobe for her stay, a baggy T-Shirt and cotton drawstring pants, along with a pair of sandals.

It was almost noon, now, and she was trying to not think about her drug therapy, which would start in about an hour, unless Eliana was delayed returning from the village. It would be a tortuous three-hour process as the much diluted drug was dripped into her system. This would cause her body temperature to rise, her perceptions to become hazy, and her body to begin aching. "_And this is supposed to make me 'better'."_ She sighed. This would be one of those times one might say the cure was worse then the disease, except she knew better. If the name, Neurocancer, was not enough to scare her, Shego had found some medical records from test subjects for the original nerve agent.

In the simplest sense, the disease occupied healthy nerve tissue, and slowly absorbed a vital element from it. Oddly, as long as the disease occupied the tissue, it sustained it. But, as the disease multiplied and spread, the original infection points would become starved, and the disease there would begin to die, along with the nerve tissue it inhabited. If the infected area was kept small enough, there would be no starvation. And then, if the disease in those areas was killed in the right way, the vital element would be re-absorbed by the nerve tissue, making it once again healthy.

Fortunately, the disease was slow in multiplying, a reason it was not considered a success by those who dealt in such things. Otherwise, Kim might have already suffered nerve damage over a wide area of her chest, since it had taken so long for events to place her here, under treatment. The medicine was containing the disease, for the moment, it would be a long process to reduce the affected area, and the danger of exhausting their supply of the drug was their biggest concern.

As the sun rose higher, movement on the other side of the pool drew Kim from thoughts of home. A stranger had entered through the arch, and was peering at her. A tall, dark haired woman, with pale skin, she wore a suitable outfit for hiking in the nearby jungle. She seemed hesitant to approach, shading her eyes with her hand as she studied Kim. But eventually, she apparently got her nerve up, and walked around the pool, towards the girl. "Good afternoon, I do hope I am not disturbing you?" She asked politely.

Her accent sounded English. Kentish, if Kim was any judge. She pushed herself a little upwards in her seat, trying not to look as weak as she felt. "Um, Hello. This is sort of private property, are you a friend of the owner?" Neither Shego or Doctor Chosa had mentioned any neighbors, just the nearby village, where Inez, as well as others who did odd jobs around the house at times, lived.

The woman gave a friendly smile as she shook her head, "No, I'm not a permanent resident, you see, I am just camping up in the hills at the moment, doing a little research." She looked around curiously, "And I thought I had better come introduce myself. Also, it gave me a chance to distract myself. Sometimes my work can get frightfully boring." She brought her gaze back to Kim, "Oh! My name is Elizabeth Reithan, I'm an entomologist."

"You can call me Alice." "_It isn't my name, but technically I'm not lying to you. Shego's influence is making me compromise an awful lot, lately." _"You're here studying insects, then ?" "_Never my favorite subject, even before Chester Yapsby."_ "I mean, Obviously!" "_Think I'll dumb myself down a bit."_

The friendly smile slipped just a bit, possibly from irritation. "Yes, Obviously. And, why are you here? From your question, you are not one of the owners, and I don't mean to give offense, but you appear in poor health, Alice." Her eyes were very alert, her gaze intent and searching.

"No offense taken." Kim replied, "You could say I'm here for a little personal rehab." "_You would be wrong, but...Oh, stop, Possible! Little misdirection is no big deal." _"Afraid I overdid the, um, high life a bit." She added sheepishly.

The woman nodded slowly, "Ah, I understand completely! Some kind of celebrity, are we, 'Alice'?"

"_Okay_,_ the game's afoot!" _Kim though, and replied aloud, "More a celebrity hanger-on, then an actual celebrity, I'm afraid. But, my 'celebrity' takes good care of me, as you can see." "_For now, the gaunt look has it's advantages, harder to recognize me, definitely distinct from my healthy look, and with no make-up, even better."_ The woman looked up and past Kim suddenly, and Kim sensed another presence behind her in the doorway.

"Good Afternoon, Madame." Eliana Chosa spoke in a cool tone, "And what do want here, may I ask?"

Reithan's smile slipped just a bit. "Ah, how do you do, I am Doctor Elizabeth Reithan, I was just talking to Alice, here, telling her that I'm doing research up in those hills," She swept her arm to the northeast, "And decided to come by and introduce myself to the residents of this lovely house."

Eliana smiled just enough to be polite. "And you are a Doctor of what?" In point of fact, Doctor Chosa had heard most of the conversation, including Kim's 'misdirections'.

"Entomology. I am here studying some of your rarer local species, and possibly collecting a few specimens to replace some lost in a fire. I was supposed to have two assistants, but they have yet to arrive." She stopped, then something occurred to her, "And I mean, arrive in the country, I am not suggesting something has happened around here, monster stories notwithstanding."

Kim's eyebrows raised slightly. "_Oookay. Strange doctor camping in the hills, and 'monster' stories? Will the cliches never stop?" _Aloud, she had to ask the question, if only to stay in character, "Monsters, really?"

Doctor Reithan laughed and shook her head, "Most unlikely, my dear. I wouldn't presume to call the locals superstitious, but I have been up in those hills for three nights, and nothing I cannot account for has been seen or heard by me."

"I agree." Eliana said, "The locals have few superstitions, and none encompass what a couple of frightened boys, and one drunken man, claim to have seen. Others who travel around here by night, and are well versed in the ways of the jungle, have heard or seen nothing." Kim wondered if one of the 'others' was Shego, but having no frame of reference for when these 'monsters' had been seen, she couldn't guess. "_But then again, it is always the mad scientist who most strenuously denies...Um, well, Eliana was a bit more strenuous, wasn't she? Whatever, Reithan is the one to watch."_

"In any event, I did not mean to intrude, and I must continue on to the village to purchase a few things, so if you will excuse me..." She then turned and returned to the arch, before giving them both one last look before exiting.

"Did you know about her, Eliana?" Kim asked. Eliana was frowning as she looked at the now-empty arch. She suddenly shook herself, and looked at Kim, "I saw her driving her jeep past the house the other morning, it must have been the day she arrived. And, there was some discussion of her in the village, but I didn't know her name, until now."

"And these 'monster' stories?"

"Just that, little one, stories, shadows that didn't roar, attack, or pursue, seen in the dark of night by people with too much imagination, or impaired judgment." She looked at her watch. "I know you would like to put this off, but I am going to prepare your medicine." Kim made a sour face, "And then I will be back to help you up the stairs, and don't say anything, I saw you come down them this morning, and I didn't like all I saw." She delivered the last in her sternest voice, before turning to go inside.

Kim huffed and fell back on the chair, carefully crossing her arms, mindful of the..."_IV tube, which was in plain sight the whole time! I wonder if that blows my lie out of the water, or not?"_

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Betty Director and Abby Hogan were back in her office early the next day. There was, of course, no news at all of Shego, and none was expected. Nor any news of Kim Possible, for that matter. It had been five days now since the bombing of Drakken's lair, and eleven since Kim had vanished. No one knew where she had vanished from, to be honest, she had simply left her home without informing anyone where she was going. No note had been left, and neither Wade nor Ron had a clue. Which didn't stop Ron from trying to solo Drakken's lair, of course, and that had landed him in a hospital bed for two nights.

The monitors in Doctor Director's office were mostly tuned to various news channels at the moment, with only a pair set to internal cameras. One pointed at Thundagirl in her hanger, as unlikely as it seemed that anything was going to occur there. The other pointed at a firing range, where three of the four 'new arrivals' were training with regular firearms. And, according to digital readouts displaying their scores, doing extremely well. Charley Cob was not visible.

"Have we had any luck at all finding out more about this 'sale' of Drakken's? Who is running it as his agent, where the money is going, anything as all about who might be buying his old stuff?" Betty asked, in a thoroughly exasperated tone of voice.

Abby shook her head. "Not a thing, not a clue, not a whisper to be had. And, we have really pushed our sources on this. I think, just as he is discarding all his old equipment and liabilities, he has chosen new associates, or at least ones never connected to him before, to handle this for him."

Betty considered this, and nodded slowly, "Unfortunately, that makes sense. He really may be getting his act together, Abigail." She checked the clock on her desk, "And I had better get mine together, if I want to get to Washington in time to have that dinner with a certain Congressman." She stood up, and began assembling some papers she meant to take with her. "Like I needed the distraction of politics at a time like this."

"Well, it is an Election Year, Betty, Politics are everything, everything is Politics." Abby shrugged apologetically.

That drew a rueful nod of agreement from Betty. Then she switched topics. "Speaking of Elections, what is the situation in Go City like?"

"The incumbent is the deadest duck in political history." Abby replied with a hint of sarcasm. "The Macheles Scandal gutted his support, either by getting them indited for going to that sick 'club', or causing them to flee to other peoples' camps. Twelve years in office looks like it for Team Go's biggest supporter."

Betty snorted derisively at that. "Biggest _Exploiter_, you mean. Not that that was our business, of course. Not as long as he kept them within his own City, anyway."

Abby nodded agreement. "Well, if Team Go loses their status in Go, will you consider taking them under our wing?"

Betty stared at the wall for a moment, lost in thought, before answering, "A year ago, that idea would have been laughable to me. But now...In the last five weeks, those four have done more damage to the criminal element in Go City then all their previous history combined, post-Shego. I don't know what got into Hego, but he actually seems nearly...competent, now. Maybe enough, with a little training...Ah! Not now, I have to go try and make sure I still have an organization for them to possibly join!"

"Going to take more than one congressman to assure that, you know."

"Yes, I know, I know, but I have to start somewhere." The intercom on her desk buzzed. "Yes, Grace?" The voice of her Secretary sounded from the box. "Charley Cob is here, and would like to speak with you."

Betty frowned, looking at Abby, who shrugged. "Okay, send her in, but I don't have much time."

A moment later, the office door opened, and Charley entered. Her clothing was a little more up to date then what she had arrived in, but she seemed to make style an afterthought, somehow. "Yes, Charley, what can I help you with?"

The girl spoke deferentially. "Ma'am, I think that we can function adequately enough to leave here now, if need be? I mean, far from perfect, but we have experience adjusting to new cultures, and I think we could manage for a short time without incident."

Betty frowned, puzzled by this...request? "Do you have a particular reason for bringing this up, Charley? Somewhere you want to go, something you want to do?"

Charley nodded. "Yes ma'am, I would like to go help look for Kim Possible."

Doctor Director's jaw didn't drop, but her surprise was shown by several rapid eyeblinks, "Um, that sounds...interesting, but, why Kim?"

"I was studying her career on the Internet, and I think she is worth an extra effort to locate, Ma'am."

"Well, I certainly agree with you there, Charley, but tell me, do you really think you can be much help in this?" Betty asked seriously.

Charley seemed mildly surprised at the question. "Of course I do Ma'am, It's what we do."

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**Please Read and Review**


	4. Investigations

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**Disclaimer:**I do not own Kim Possible or any of the characters from other media I may reference in my stories.

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Another day, thankfully not a 'treatment' day, another leisurely lounge by the pool. A beautiful day, if it wasn't for all the come-and-go nausea, and aching everything. Kim sighed, hating again the contrast between her condition and the beautiful setting. Her stomach was starting to growl, it currently being near noon. Breakfast was impossible the day after treatment, but she could usually manage a small lunch and a decent dinner. Three square meals every two days wasn't great, but it was all she could handle.

It was three days since Doctor Reithan's visit, and there had been no sign of her since. Nor had there been any reports of more 'monsters' in the vicinity. A brief, but violent thunderstorm had come through the night before, but now the sky was clear, letting the sun shine down uninhibited. And Kim appreciated the warmth soaking into her, though she suspected that soon it would become too much, and force her inside again. "_At least I can still manage on level ground." _She had needed help down the stairs that morning, at least if she had wanted to descend upright. She didn't ask Eliana for her opinion of her progress, if any. The doctor didn't really have all the means necessary to examine her and her disease.

They were limited to Kim's own sensations, and to a lesser extent visual examination. But no change was yet perceptible in either case. The area appeared white, and when touched, triggered sensations Kim equated to the touch of something cold, with a little accompanying pain. It also felt a little 'hard', but only relative to the unaffected skin around it. These symptoms equated rather roughly with the reports Shego had obtained, but most of the previous victims had mentioned extreme irritability in the affected area, with any clothing rubbing against it triggering a painful itching. Nothing like that had occurred yet with Kim, who had had the disease now for nearly a month. And, if those symptoms indicated that this case, caused by Shego's plasma interacting with the original agent, was different from those that came before, then there was the real possibility that the medicine they had would have no effect at all.

A rumbling noise in the sky drew Kim out of her depressing thoughts. She looked around, but the cause of the sound, which she was quite certain was Shego's jet, was blocked from her sight by the house. The wall around the pool area cut off her view of the landing pad, and she briefly considered getting up and walking through the gate in the wall next to the house, to watch Shego land, but honestly wasn't up to the effort. "_I sooo hate feeling this way! But, I would rather not try it if I might fall on my face in front of Shego, I would never hear the end of it!"_

She briefly glimpsed one wingtip as Shego swung into landing position, but after that had to wait nearly twenty minutes for the pale thief to appear, having vertically landed her plane and rolled it into it's hangar, then shutting it down. Kim was glad Shego hadn't gone through the house and talked to Doctor Chosa first, she really was impatient to get whatever news the woman had returned with.

When Shego finally walked through the gate, she took a minute to study the redhead before her. Kim's clothes covered most of her body, but the pants stopped at the knees, and the shirtsleeves just at the elbows. Seven, no eight days had been hard on the teen, Shego could see the weight loss plainly in the exposed limbs. "_And she didn't have that much to lose, to begin with."_ She was still short of anorexic, if one was charitable, but she was getting there quickly. "_If only she could sustain some exercise..." _Faking a smile was not one of Shego's strong points, so she settled for not wincing at the sight.

"Hey, Princess. Things been quiet around here?" "_What to tell her about? Some things, she'll be mad at me if I withhold them, but some of those might also make her do something dumb. Ah, Hell, I need to keep her trust, better stick to the truth." _"Can't say you haven't looked better." She took a seat on another lounge chair, and took off her aviator shades, she didn't want Kim to think she was hiding anything behind them.

Kim, who had wanted to get in the first questions before Shego, smirked, "Oh, yeah, quiet as can be...except for a new neighbor, that is." That brought a frown to Shego's face immediately. "Neighbor? What kind of neighbor?" Kim told her about Doctor Reithan, or as much as she knew about her.

Shego's frown only deepened. "Reithan, hmm? Mystery scientist? Not my favorite type of mystery, especially now." Shego stood and turned to look out towards the hills her hiking path led to. "She see you, personally?" Kim nodded, then explained her fabrication, but ending sheepishly, "Then I realized my IV hub was visible to her the whole time. So, I might have blown the 'rehab' story." The IV was now in the back of her left hand, at least for tomorrow's treatment, then it would be moved again. So far, it had only been necessary to use with the medicine, not for fluid replenishment or nutrients. That might change, according to Doctor Chosa.

"Well, that doesn't matter, all that does matter is whether she recognizes you as Kim Possible. Otherwise, she can think what she wants." Shego tapped her chin, thinking, "Reithan, Reithan, I think I remember that name recently, but can't remember quite where." After giving her a minute with her thoughts, Kim's patience wore thin. "What's happening in the outside world? I know they're still looking for me, but is anyone getting close to the truth?"

"Huh? Oh, no...well, Stoppable came calling at the lair to see if we had you." Kim's eyes widened, "And he picked a ferociously bad time to do it." Seeing a concerned look, Shego sighed and bit the bullet, "See, someone got it in their mind to bomb the lair." concern turned to shock. "We think whoever it is may have hijacked a plane belonging to the Air Force to do it. Not sure, completely, but the Air Force was sure on the scene quickly after the attack."

"Was anyone hurt? Was Ron hurt? Rufus? Who would attack you that way?" Kim had tried forcing herself to her feet as she spoke, but sagged back instead. Shego moved to her and knelt, taking her hand. "Don't worry, Ron's okay. Nicked, but okay. Drakken broke his arm, we...lost two henchmen."

Kim looked stunned, but partly relieved. Shego spoke quickly to forestall any more questions, "And, No, we don't know who did it...yet. I spent the last two days checking the only possibilities I could think of, and _nada. _Before that, I had to escape custody again." At Kim's raised eyebrow, Shego smirked, "Global Justice, and some other people, had to...dig us out of the lair." If Kim caught the hesitation, she said nothing.

When Shego didn't continue, Kim asked, "I suppose you escaped during another 'Transfer for Interview'?" When Shego responded with a grinning nod, Kim shook her head, "Who lost you this time?"

"Detroit PD. Had some fun up there in March with Motor Ed."

Kim sighed in exasperation, "You 'have fun' like that on purpose, don't you? Just to set these escapes of yours up."

"Oh Course, Kimmie, what other reason would I hang out with Eddie for?" She remembered something, and laughed, "Having to get all these city cops mad at me is a pain, but since the Feds stopped coming through..." At Kim's look, she elaborated, "Oh, they still want to 'interview' me, too, but they're tired of losing me. Embarrassing, you know? So, now they let the City Cops try it, and if, somehow, they actually hang on to me for a couple days, then they will send their own people in to get their questions asked. At least, that's what I think they'll do, on the Cold Day in Hell some local yokel hangs on to me for any time at all."

Kim rolled her eyes, and lay back on the lounge chair. After a moment, she looked away as she asked, "Did you check on my family at all?" Shego's look softened, "Kimmie, you know what I'd find, they're worried, and upset, you know that. You knew that when you agreed to this." She saw the wetness forming, "Pumpkin, try not to cry, You'll just make yourself more miserable." The words didn't stop the tears, but the sudden growl from Kim's stomach caused enough distraction to do so. "Well, somebody is hungry." Shego grinned at the faint blush that came to Kim's face. "Let me go see Inez and Eliana, and change out of these clothes, it was a long flight." Kim nodded, as Shego rose and entered the house.

After lunch, Shego set out for the village, going afoot both for the exercise, and to have a chance to think. She wore a normal T-Shirt and Jeans, with sturdy boots, not one of her custom outfits. Eliana had already spoken to the villagers about the strange doctor, but Shego wanted to see if she could learn more.

Unfortunately, she received no new information. Doctor Reithan had entered the village six days ago, stayed one night at the local Inn, then had driven up into the hills, driving a jeep with a small two-wheeled trailer in tow. She had hiked into the village twice since, but only to purchase a few items. As far as Shego could discover, the doctor had not been asking any questions of her own about her neighbors.

"_Which is actually suspicious in itself. Not even idle curiosity?"_ Shego's musings were interrupted by two young boys, who ran towards her shouting her name. "_Senorita _Shego! _Senorita_ Shego! You are a slayer of monsters, _si?" _And so, Shego learned of the 'monsters' that had been sighted by both these boys, and one other witness of questionable reliability. The mention of 'Monsters' made her think of DNAmy, and that in turn brought back the memory that eluded her earlier. "_Monty."_

As soon as she returned home, she contacted a fixer she knew, and requested him to try and contact Monkeyfist, and get a message to him that she needed contact with him, urgently. She authorized the fixer to give Fiske one of her cell numbers, after which he could consider it no longer usable.

Dinner was quiet, but Shego was happy to see Kim putting away a decent amount of food. Nothing like the meals she had once eaten, which had made Shego wonder where she could possibly be putting it all. Kim had wormed all she knew about Ron's injuries out of her, which was little more than what Charley Cob had told her after her preliminary scan of the boy. She still didn't mention their rescuers, though, but could not understand her own reticence. "_Well, maybe because they're hard to explain? No, Kim knows about 'The Doctor', that would be explanation enough. No, it's because I don't know enough about them, myself!" _

As usual, Kim wore out by eight o'clock. She never seemed to enter full sleep, as far as she could tell, anyway, and ended up spending long hours half-asleep, or whatever, as if to make up for it. Eliana helped her up the stairs, while Shego lingered downstairs until nearly eleven, hoping to hear from Monkeyfist. Eventually, though, she extinguished the lights and went upstairs to bed.

At just past one in the morning, something made a strange skittering noise on the balcony outside Kim's room. The noise stilled for a minute, then a strange creature entered the room. Roughly spider-like, it's width from legtip to legtip was nearly three feet. Two jointed 'arms', tipped with sharp spikes, were folded back alongside it's head, which featured two black eyes flanking a single grayish one. It clambered up the wall opposite the bed, and hung facing towards the sleeping Kim. If the light in the room had been brighter, an odd distortion might have been seen, radiating out from the center eye like a radar wave. The creature altered it's facing, and repeated the odd pulse. Then it suddenly spun in place on the wall, alert, before quickly springing from the wall and skittering out of the room, over the balcony rail, and away.

The hallway door swung open abruptly, and Shego stood there, 'bed-head' and all, clad in a knee length nightshirt, plasma just flickering around her hands. She scanned the room carefully, by what little moonlight shown through the balcony door. After a moment, she stalked carefully into the room, and began searching the corners and available hiding places more thoroughly. Only a brief freeze, as a soft, pained, moan emanated from Kim, interrupted her methodical search.

Finally satisfied that whatever, if anything, had disturbed her sleep was gone, Shego approached the sleeping girl and listened to her breathing. It was shallow, but not labored. Shego could tell that Kim's eyelids were twitching, but not, she thought, the sort of thing one got from REM sleep. "_Can't go fully to sleep, can you, Pumpkin?"_ The girl's muscles had tension in them, just on the edge of relaxing, but not able to manage it. "_No wonder Eliana says you're stiff in the morning, if you're like this all night! And I'm at least half responsible for your suffering. And trying to do my best to make up for it. What a difference a year makes, back then I would have enjoyed the idea of causing you pain!"_

Shego shook her head, then turned and slipped quietly back out of the room, pausing only to check the position of the transom, which was half open to facilitate air circulation. She took one final look around the room before departing. Nothing further disturbed the night, save Kim's own occasional moans and movements.

Monkeyfist didn't call until just past noon. Kim was outside, sunning herself, morosely contemplating the upcoming afternoon of drug therapy. Trying to cheer her up was a lost cause after her first two treatments, and no one made much effort anymore, as it only seemed to irritate her. Shego took the call as far from the pool as she could, stepping out into the gardens, and closing the door behind her.

"Well, well, well, My Dear Shego, imagine my surprise to hear that you actually wanted me to call you!" Shego made a face at the phone. "When I last saw you, we hardly parted amicably."

"Actually, I thought we had a very civil conversation the morning after the summit with Possible, at the continental breakfast, before we left the **Bermuda Triangle**. In fact, it's something from that conversation I wanted to ask you about. Do you remember talking about DNAmy having some sort of new 'Apprentice'? What did you say her name was?"

"Her name? Now, why would that be important to you, my Dear?" Monty was a mix of curiosity and malice, he could draw this out for a long time just to make her angry, so Shego decided to cut right to the threats.

"Right at the moment, Monty, someone who might be that 'apprentice' constitutes a possible threat to me, which means withholding this information from me will make you as accountable as her if someone I care about, namely me, gets hurt in any way because you held out. And you know I believe in 'both eyes for an eye', don't you?"

"Now, now, no need to be terse. I may disappoint you anyway, Shego. I can only say that it was Ray-something or other" Monty's tone had shifted to wary, the quick shift to threats puzzled him, Shego never showed much concern about Amy Hall before. "Bye the bye, what is this I hear about someone bombing you and the good Doctor out of lair and home?"

"Could the name have been Reithan? Less emphasis on the 'ray' part?" Silence met this query, and Shego rolled her eyes. "Yes, we were bombed, don't know by who, Yet! Now, could that be the name?"

A silence almost long enough to hit Shego's boiling point followed, but Fiske finally broke it. "Yes, that _could_ be it, I suppose. About this bomb..." Shego broke the connection, then melted the cell phone with her plasma. A grim look was on her face. "Okay..."

Deciding what to do, and when to do it, were two different things. Also, there was the consideration that more information might be helpful. So Shego headed for her den, where she unlocked a cabinet in which her personal computer sat, pulled up a swivel chair, and began searching the Web for information about Elizabeth Reithan. Finding it took little time, analyzing it quite a bit longer, cross-referencing it for verification almost through dinner time.

"Fake. Great faking, rarely seen better, but definitely fake." Shego concluded, closing down her computer and locking it back up. She headed into the dining area and sat down to eat, but only picked at her food. Since Kim was absent, dealing with the aftereffects of her therapy, only Eliana sat with her, while Inez cleaned up the kitchen. After some time, the doctor could no longer hold back her curiosity. "So, is there something wrong with our 'neighbor'?"

Shego looked blankly at her a moment, then blinked, "Oh! Yeah, something definitely wrong, all right. But, I should be able to handle any trouble, don't worry." Of course, the fact that Shego found it necessary to make such an assurance was a bit ominous in itself.

After dinner, Shego stood looking out the doors in the direction where Reithan's camp should be. "_Love to go visit her tonight, but having to find the camp in the dark first, with all that area to cover...not a good plan." _From behind her, she heard a familiar conversation, Inez headed home to the village.

The sun was almost down, and suddenly Shego turned from the windows. "Inez, wait a minute, I think I'll walk you home." Inez looked confused, and Eliana frowned, so Shego added, "Hey, I just feel like the walk, Okay?" She said it with as sincere a smile as she could muster. Inez shrugged, then nodded. Eliana Chosa, however, looked not the least reassured, and looked warily out into the night. As the two women left, Shego mimicked turning a key where Inez couldn't see. Eliana nodded, before closing the doors behind them. Locking up was not always done at the house, there being little concern, since Shego had put in a very efficient security system. And, there were rarely any strangers around to be concerned about, while the locals could be trusted.

The walk to the village was uneventful, and Shego begged off an invitation to stay and talk with Inez's grandmother, who she usually enjoyed hearing stories from, by saying it was late, and she was worried about her house guest. Promising a return as soon as possible, Shego started back in the dark.

The night was Shego's element, and she hated it when something made it feel unwelcome. And tonight, it was feeling...threatening. She hadn't taken a flashlight with her, but felt the light from a waxing moon would be more than enough for her. Small, scattered clouds drifted across the three-quarters full disc, but none were big enough, or dense enough, to completely mask it's light.

About halfway home, with the vegetation at it's thickest to either side of the road, she felt a presence. It seemed close, but not close enough to be threatening. So she showed it no notice, and continued walking, hoping to lure whatever it was closer. She knew it wasn't one of the local animals, though exactly how she wasn't sure. It felt...unnatural, somehow alien. "_It could be one of Amy's 'Cuddlebunnies', but I don't think so...this feels weirder, somehow." _If it was following, and she felt sure it was doing so, it was too quiet to hear.

After several minutes without a change in the 'feel' of her stalker, Shego decided to force the issue. "_Well, one thing consistent in my personality from start to...now, Impulsiveness, and impatience." _She turned suddenly about to face where she believed her stalker lurked, and advanced several forceful strides, hoping to trigger a strong reaction from her foe, at least to make it move violently enough to be seen in the moonlight. Plasma flared around her hands to increase her 'threat'. The light they gave off didn't illuminate much. Using them as a light source out of doors was a waste of her energy, they were far more effective in close quarters, with surfaces that could reflect the light.

Stopping while still on the road, she stood in a combat stance, peering at the jungle intently. Nothing seemed to be moving at all. No wind stirred the leaves, no sounds..."_Ah, the old 'it's __too_ _quiet' sitch._ Hmm_, Kimmie overdose." _But she still had no target. "_I know how this goes, as soon as I turn my back and leave, something big suddenly moves away."_ But after several minutes staring without results into the darkness, Shego couldn't wait anymore. Extinguishing her plasma, she backed away several steps before turning and resuming her walk home.

And behind her in the darkness, something _big _did suddenly stir, just off the road, but instead of following her, it faded back into the jungle.

0000000000000000

**That same day, hours earlier:**

The Possible Household, not surprisingly, had been a grim place since Kim's disappearance. Both her parents spent most of their time at home now, which was both wise, due to their preoccupation with their daughter's absence, and also a kindness to their co-workers. Though their children didn't see it, both Doctors Possible had a dark side. Not too dark, mind, but enough, added to their current worries, to have made them both unbearable to be around.

The 'Tweebs' had also been subdued, but only after the first five days, when they began to think something serious _had_ actually happened, and not some spur-of-the-moment rebellion against all things responsible and parenty, which they frankly had expected to happen months ago. They had bet on the day Kim would go Psycho, or rebel against authority, with a little prodding from them, but she had exceeded all their estimates as to how long she could possibly manage to stay a 'good' girl.

They had suspended their shenanigans intended to help push her over that edge after what had happened to her in Go City. They knew more about the details of that incident than their parents would have been comfortable with, having hacked a few files, but some of the stuff they found had actually caused them to stop their efforts, because it was too disturbing to think about.

Ron Stoppable, mobile again, but not in fighting shape, was at the Possible house more during the day then at his own home, which surprised no one. His story of what had happened at Drakken's lair had been told, excluding some things the Air Force had _politely_ asked him to omit. His talk about Charley Cob and the other girls had registered minutely with Jim and Tim, but mention of the 'boys' had gotten their attention. They had pestered Wade for any recordings he had of them, and received a very brief clip of Roy, when he had entered the Sloth, as well as a quick shot of Thundagirl as she briefly appeared through the car's window. The other images Wade had culled from his recordings were still his exclusively, waiting until he deemed that they might actually be of more interest to the Tweebs then the technical stuff. Based on their Father's history, that might not be until Junior year in College.

The Press furor over the teen heroine's disappearance had abated, but not gone away entirely. Middleton PD had removed a lingering paparazzi only that morning, at the request of a neighbor on whose property he was trespassing. But, one was a far cry from a week previously, when six in one day were flushed out. Parking laws in Middleton prevented non-residents from occupying standing vehicles beyond a certain time limit, so parking on the street and watching the Possible house was not an option for them. Actual Reporters had also become scarce, it had been two days since the last time Ron had been accosted by one on the walk from his home, asking if there were any developments. Ron had honestly answered 'none' to all such queries, and dealt as calmly as possible with all the other questions that seemed to repeat themselves in an endless cycle.

Security Protection on the Possibles' private numbers meant that any news person who actually obtained it to try and get a phone interview ended up talking to Government agents, mostly because of James Possibles classified work. Practically every contact number for the Possibles had some complication attached, except Kim's private line, which somehow they never got, and the family's main phone, which was currently set to ring only if Caller ID recognized the number from an approved list. And it had been six days since a reporter had been turned away at the front door.

So, when the doorbell rang in mid-afternoon, with Ron slouched carefully on the sofa, the twins in their room, and Ann Possible bustling about the kitchen, James Possible did not psych himself up to deliver a curt welcome to whoever was at the door, as he had become accustomed to doing of late. Nor was he back to the state wherein he could be his usual cheerful self. So, the expression on his face when he answered the door was so neutral, he could have patented it and sold it to professional gamblers. Not that it remained so for very long.

It did take a few blinks for his brain to process what he was seeing, however. "_Blond twins...red hair, blue streak...". _"Oh! You're the girls who saved Ronald at Drew's lair!"

"Drew? Oh, yes, Drew Lipsky, his real name! Yes, we are, my name's Charley Cob, with one 'b', and these are J.J. Ko, Annabelle Reeder, and her sister, Annabeth ." Charley scanned the street, noting a few people who were looking curiously at them. The four girls had walked here from GJ's Middleton facility, after flying from the one where they were quartered. It was three days since Charley had asked permission from Doctor Director to help search for Kim, and the interval had been spent getting them all the necessary documents they needed in case they attracted attention to themselves. Charley knew for a fact that GJ agents had monitored their progress, and wasn't concerned. And she was only mildly concerned about attracting attention from the neighbors. The Press, however, might be inconvenient.

In the event, she had nothing to worry about. The sole paparazzi still watching the house, through a telephoto lens from a fairly distant hill, dismissed the four as probably classmates of Kim's, or maybe Fan Club members. Nothing about their current dress or demeanor excited interest, other then the fact that the Reeder twins were strikingly attractive, and J.J.'s walk was an interesting mix of stalk and sashay. Though it occurred to him that perhaps some colleague might want to interview the four when they eventually left, none he could think of at the moment who might be interested, and were close enough to get here quickly, were friends, or people he wanted as friends. So, he just took a couple of pictures in case something interesting developed later.

"Charley! Ow! Da..darn ribs!" Ron pulled himself up from the sofa and headed for the door, as James ushered the four girls in. Neither man noticed a small blur that slipped in at the top of the door.

A chorus of greeting came from the quartet as they entered. Though Charley had already done so, Ron introduced the four girls individually to James, and a minute later to Ann Possible. The commotion attracted the twins, and they made the connection quickly, as well. "Hey! Where's your armor? Where's your skulls? Where did you come from? Where..."

"Boys!" Ann cut them off, "Don't ask so many questions, it's rude!" "Since when?" Tim replied, but before she could answer, she saw their attention shift from her, as they began peering intently at a spot on the ceiling. A moving spot, from their eyes. Ann turned and looked where they were, and suddenly spotted the blurred patch of air moving across the ceiling. Frowning, she turned to their visitors, and saw Charley hold a finger to her lips. Noticing this, too, Jim sidled over and whispered to the girl, "If you're looking for listening devices, Trust me, this house is _cleeean!"_

Charley whispered back, "Oh, he's already found two." The Tweebs looked stunned. At their mother's inquiring look, they both shrugged, and spoke in unison, "Honest, Mom! We've kept to the schedule, we swept this morning!" Then they looked at each other, and still in unison, "And _I_ didn't miss anything!"

As they glowered at each other, Charley walked over to the coffee table and pulled something that looked like a wad of chewed gum off the bottom, then tossed it at the twins. Tim caught it, and Charley said, "Go ahead, see if you can figure how that got by your sweep." Muttering 'hicka bicka boo', the Tweebs ascended the stairs, and Charley turned to their parents. "The other one is expensive, and I think it might be Government issue. Currently, Fred is blocking it's signal."

"Such as Global Justice?" asked Ann. Charley shrugged. "Well, deactivate it, if you can, Miss Cob, It has no business being here, no matter who installed it!" Charley turned to look at the blur, which suddenly resolved itself as Fred. "Don't destroy it, Fred, but make sure it can't be reactivated." the little skull bobbed acknowledgment, then moved up to one corner of the fireplace. Seconds later, he turned back to Charley and bobbed again. "Well, that takes care of it." Charley told the Possibles.

"Charley, what're you doing here!?" Ron asked, "And where have you been?" Rufus appeared from beneath the sofa, and hopped up to the boy's shoulder, nodding to show his own interest in the question.

"Global Justice was keeping us, while they made some sort of identity for the four of us." She pulled a slim wallet from her jeans. "No driver's license, of course, but legal ID, a credit card with a low limit," The other three girls showed a mix of amusement and disgust, "Even a couple of faked photos of family, and all." One had Abby Hogan embracing the Reeder twins like a mother or aunt, a pose for which she had been 'volunteered' by Doctor Director, herself, to the amusement of many of her fellow agents. "Video club membership card, Club Banana discount card, quite a few things, actually."

"Great! Sounds like you're blending right in, but, what are you doing here?" A small note of...hope? Seemed to be in the boy's voice.

"Oh, Doctor Director let us out to help look for Kim."

"Terrific! But, how are you going to do it, Charley?" A cry of 'Hoo-shaa!' suddenly rang out from the direction of the twins' room. "Uh oh, I don't think the owner of that gum bug is too happy right now." Rufus nodded an enthusiastic agreement.

"Well," Charley began, "First, I would like you to put me in touch with Wade Load, if you can, and the bigger the screen we can talk on, the better." She paused, "And, while I'm talking to Wade, maybe you can show the girls a good place to go eat." Ann Possible's face grew a little worried at that suggestion, knowing Ron's eating habits. "Because we _can't_ impose on Kim's parents." the emphasis was directed at J.J., who was sniffing the air surreptitiously, catching the aroma of simmering 'brain loaf' drifting in from the kitchen. The redhead caught the hint, and shrugged goodnaturedly. "That's if you feel up to it, of course."

Before Ron could talk, Ann Possible cut in, "You won't be imposing, I have enough food for all of you. After all, you were planning to eat as well, weren't you, young lady?" Charley actually blushed faintly at that, while behind her Belle tapped the side of her head, while shaking it slowly. "As to...Fred?" Charley nodded, "Didn't Ron say you had four of them?"

"The others are still at Global Justice, along with our equipment, they're trying to study it, and see how it works." Which was certainly true enough, though in fact GJ hadn't decided on whether it felt safe to let them take the weapons with them, and were unlikely to approve that idea, either. "They haven't had a lot of success yet, though they say they have learned some useful things. Trying to understand it all is just too big a leap forward, right now."

"Ronald said you had met...The Doctor, is that right?" James asked. Charley nodded, "Then you aren't from this time, temporally speaking?" Charley shook her head, "Ah, future technology, I'd love to see it, myself." He scowled, "But not now, not while Kimmie-cub is missing."

"I understand, Sir. I hope we can help find her for you, and quickly." As the other girls nodded agreement, Charley turned back to Ron, "About contacting Wade Load?"

Ron frowned, checking his Ronnunicator, but it was obviously too small. "Well, we could use my home computer, but it's kinda slow, or Kim's, if Mrs Doctor P. lets us...except I don't know her password."

Ann Possible frowned thoughtfully for a moment. "I want your word to respect Kim's privacy?" Charley nodded solemnly, "Very well, I believe I can find that password." She turned and ascended the stairs, heading for the Tweebs' room.

"Hey, Charley," asked Beth, "What are we supposed to do while you're doing the boring computer stuff?" Ron answered before Charley could, "Watch TV, of course! Or play Video Games, but we have to turn them off when the news comes on at five." He added the last with a glance at James, who nodded.

"Oh, that's fine!"Belle exclaimed, "We're supposed to keep up with the news, try and acclimate to this time frame." she paused, "Though, the games idea sounds kind of cool, too."

Ann Possible came back downstairs at that moment, "Well, if you're supposed to be watching the news, then the news you'll watch, all right?" Three sheepish nods answered, "Good! Now, I have Kim's computer password."

"What kind of deal did you make for that, Mrs Doctor P.?" Ron asked.

Ann gave him a mildly incredulous look, "Deal? I am their mother, after all." As she turned to lead Charley back upstairs, she looked at her husband, mouthed 'tell you later', and held up three fingers so only he could see them. He nodded slightly. A 'three' on the reward scale wasn't too bad a deal for a password. 'Five', or 'Six', might be worth a little anxiety.

Charley followed Ann up the stairs while Ron showed the other girls how the remote for the TV functioned, then he headed upstairs as well. He passed Ann on the way down from Kim's loft room, and wondered to himself how she could trust Charley that much on short notice, as to leave her alone in Kim's room. "She seems to be a nice girl." Ann commented, as if reading Ron's thoughts, "And honest, as well." Ron nodded, then went up the remaining steps. Rufus had preceded him, and was perched on Kim's dresser, where he could see both the computer screen, and keep a wary eye on Fred,who hovered around the room, scanning it carefully. After a minute or two, he looked at a watching Charley and bobbed. Charley nodded, and pushed the 'enter' key, to initiate contact.

Wade's face popped up on the screen. A surprised look changed quickly to a smile, "Hey Charley! Nice to see you..." A sudden blink, and a possible small blush, followed, "Uh, heh, just a sec." The teenager spun to another of his computers, and typed in a hasty command. Though neither Ron nor Charley could see the actual screen, they could tell from the reflected light that Wade had shut something down. The boy then turned back to face them. "Some work I was doing, just distracting...um, what can I do for you both, is this about Kim?"

A slight frown vanished from Charley's face as she smiled, "Yes, me and the girls are hoping to help find her, and I need your help to follow the trail."

"Sure! But, I've been checking out every possibility I could, already. And, I can't find a clear trail anywhere. Lots of possibilities, Kim has many enemies, but none of them seem to be good suspects, this time." The boy frowned, "I had someone else suggest Kim may have committed suicide, a delayed 'reaction' to what happened to her in Go City near the end of April! I mean, that is the third time I've heard that suggestion, they couldn't be right, could they?!"

"Well, I'm pretty sure she isn't dead, Wade. And, I don't think this situation is what you've been thinking of, either. I think I may have a faint idea what is going on, and who's involved, though. I just need you to help me find more proof." The girl's reassurance seemed to help, but Wade frowned, "'More' proof? What do you already have?"

Charley hesitated before beginning, "Well, Shego is involved." Ron's and Wade's eyebrows both shot up at that, "Which I know because she lied to Ron about not knowing where Kim was, at the lair. You see, Saul...one of my 'boys'? Well, he was scanning her for injuries when she told Ron that, and the boys make pretty good lie detectors. I verified which thing she was being dishonest about later, with Ben."

Ron nodded slowly, remembering, "You asked her the second time whether she had heard of Kim being killed, and she said no." His face clouded, "But, if she has Kim..."

"Hold on a second, Ron, there's something else about her 'lie'." Charley looked from Ron to Wade, "Don't ask me how I know this, but there was no malice in her lie, no gloating. In fact, she almost seemed to regret having to lie, as if...Kim had asked her to keep a secret, or something like that."

Wade's jaw dropped, while Ron sputtered, "Kim ask Shego? No Way! I mean, they've been acting a little different, lately, I mean, they went to a Therapist together! But, Oh, maybe it has something to do with that." A sudden look of horror came over Ron's face, "Maybe Kim did kill herself, and she asked Shego to help! I mean, Drakken once asked Shego to..."

"Ron! Ron, I said before, I think Kim's alive, and I mean that!" Charley turned back to Wade, "Wade, can you get hold of the Security camera footage from a fight between Kim and Shego back on May 11th?" Wade scowled slightly, but began typing on one of his keyboards, "Sure, I can get it, just give me a few minutes." Four minutes, to be precise, before he looked up, "Ready to roll."

"Okay, I saw this when I was still at Global Justice, they let me surf the Net. Just run it, first, Wade, then I'll show you what I spotted." Wade nodded, and started the recording. It began with a dozen or so technicians working in a laboratory. A well dressed man entered, and engaged several of the technicians in conversation in turn, smiling the whole time. The video resolution was excellent, better than Charley remembered from GJ's computers.

Suddenly, Shego entered the picture from the lower right corner. Charley knew from another angle that she had entered from a doorway leading to a set of fire stairs. The technicians panicked, but one's attempt to flee through another exit was blocked by a plasma bolt. Apparently after some 'negotiation', the well-dressed man was persuaded to open a narrow vault door. "That's the Plant Manager." Ron commented, and Charley nodded. "And Shego's about to get a surprise!" Ron added with a smile. On the screen, the Manager opened the door and jumped back, as Kim and Ron burst out of the room. And Ron collided with the Manager, who hadn't jumped back far enough, caroming off him and knocking a container, easily big enough to hold several gallons, off a work table.

The container's lid burst off violently as it hit the floor, splashing it's contents all over Kim. As the girl tried to flinch away from the chemical, one of her feet slipped, and she went down hard on her backside. She sat there a moment, her expression unreadable. Ron was shouting, apparently an apology, and Shego was laughing. The Manager was also shouting at Kim. "What's he saying to Kim?" Charley asked. "Only not to worry, the chemical was harmless." Ron replied. Charley nodded, without taking her eyes off the screen.

The manager backed away, moving back among his employees. Shego stopped laughing, and stared intently at the teen, who seemed to be ignoring her, and all around her. Then, she suddenly splashed her hands in the mess, wincing as she did so, and struggled to her feet. Moving carefully clear of the spill while keeping her focus on Shego, she suddenly launched a kick at the thief. And the fight was on. For nearly a minute, the fight continued, with Kim limiting her attacks to kicks, while Shego pressed close to make those more difficult to land at full effect. Then, the two went down with Kim on the bottom. Shego's plasma was ignited, and she pressed down on the teenager, who tried to hold her larger foe off. A look of growing pain was on Kim's face, and suddenly Shego broke away, abandoning her advantage.

As Shego backed off, Kim forced herself up, trying to use her elbows instead of her hands as much as possible. Shego was speaking as she did, and then she spun and withdrew swiftly the way she had come, empty-handed. Kim made it upright, but suddenly sagged, holding her hands carefully away from her, tears visible on her cheeks. Ron came up and carefully wrapped an arm around her while trying to avoid the stains on her clothing. The Manager approached, a confused expression on his face. He spoke briefly to the teen, then smiled, somewhat forced, and went back to his workers, looking about, apparently, for one in particular. "That's enough, Wade." Charley said. As Wade's face reappeared on the screen, she turned to Ron, she asked, "What did Shego say as she left, and why did you stay back?"

Ron thought for a moment before replying, "She said Kim had come back too soon, but she admired the effort. And, Kim had asked me to stay out, no matter what happened, so I did." He spoke the last defensively, but Charley ignored it. "Wade, did you check that chemical out yourself?" she asked the boy genius.

The boy nodded, "Of course, it's rated as safe for skin contact, simply wash off with water if any splashed on you." Charley nodded, "I see. I don't suppose Kim still has that top around she was wearing?" Ron frowned, and shook his head, "No, she trashed it, it had a stain on the chest that wouldn't come out." Charley's eyes narrowed, "Only on the chest, Ron?" he nodded, "Yet the chemical got on her top in many places." Ron blinked, considering that, "Yeah, but is that important?"

Instead of answering, Charley turned back to face a scowling, thoughtful, Wade Load, "Okay, Wade, I need you to run it again, but focus on two things, and set up a split screen so they're running in sync. One, the Manager and his immediate surroundings. Two, Kim and Shego, when they got into that clinch and fell." Wade nodded, still scowling and worked at his keyboards for a minute. "Okay, ready!" Charley nodded, and Wade's face was replaced by the replay. "Now, watch that guy to the right of the manager, his facial expression...see, when Kim hits the floor, and Shego's on top, with that energy of hers going? He suddenly gets a shocked look on his face, as if he just realized something."

"And, now, as they break apart as Shego gets up, he starts whispering urgently in the Manager's ear, actually taking him by the lapel as he does." A faint 'no,no,no' could be heard from Wade's end. "And now the manager is looking distinctly disturbed." Ron's face had gone blank, as his thought processes booted up. Wade's voice could faintly be heard, "How could I miss..." Ron's face took on a scared look, "You're saying, Shego's plasma, and the chemical...it _changed _the chemical, and that maybe it wasn't _safe_ anymore?! And that guy knew it, and he didn't say anything?" Fear became plain on Ron's face. The sounds of Wade working his keyboards came clearly through the connection, though the frozen last frame of the tape was still up. "She could be dying, No! She wouldn't go away, she'd be here trying to find a cure, letting her Mom find a cure! She wouldn't just...leave."

"I can't find it! The file is no longer in their system! They deleted it, they knew what they did! I don't know where else to look!" Wade was beginning to head deep into hysteria, and seemed close to hyperventilating.

"Wade! Was there a project name, associated with that chemical, an ID of any kind? Think, please, and think calmly, Okay?" Charley spoke sharply but calmly. After a moment, the screen switched back to the young genius, who was trying to regain control, nodding, and typing again with increasing assurance. "Okay, I remember the project name, but that file is gone as well. Searching for other references...got one! Shipping manifest, deliveries assigned to that project."

"Point of origin, Wade?" Charley prompted, and his face soon lit up, "Yes, I found it! Oh, no, these people are bad news, they make nerve weapons, or rather research them, for 'legitimate' governments. They might have sent some kind of nerve agent to the lab, and Kim...No, wait, there were no precautions taken, it had to be harmless when it got there, but maybe they derived it from something that wasn't, and Shego's plasma made it dangerous again..."

"Yes." Charley said, "That's how I figured it might be after watching it on Global Justice's computers, and that bit about the origin of the chemical confirms it for me." Ron stared at her, mouth working, but no words coming out. His face started to redden, but before he could say anything, Charley continued, "Now, let's try and find some evidence to support the rest of my theory. That Kim may have gone voluntarily with Shego." She paused, "Wade, Can you get anything on the raid Shego made on a medical research laboratory in Milan, on...June 4th?" Wade worked on that task for three minutes, before looking up, face grim. "Ready Charley, I have footage from all the security cameras."

"What's the layout of the floor, Wade?"

"It's cross, or rather 'x' shaped. This camera is above the security desk at the center, facing North, down the hallway leading to the public elevators." Two uniformed guards were manning the desk on screen. "There's a service elevator down the Eastern hallway, that's where Shego came up." The camera view shifted to an Eastern facing camera. The cameras appeared to be set in a raised section of roof, above the security desk.

"Lousy Camera placement, you can't actually see to the end of the halls from them." Charley commented. "Also, fixed cameras aren't very efficient, either.

"True! Now, there are cameras directly above both elevators, facing the security desk." Wade narrated, then gave a quick look from both angles. "And one in each of the labs." He ran through about seven different shots. "But, Shego never appeared on any of them. If it wasn't for her use of plasma to take down the guards and cameras, we might not know it was her."

"Okay, Wade, take us through it, please."

"Okay, it starts with some kind of noise drawing the guards away from their desk." On screen, the guards suddenly look alertly down the Eastern hallway. But, their stance relaxes almost at once, and they turn to look at each other. One shrugs, but the second points down the hall. The first shakes his head, but then opens a cabinet under the desk and draws out a weapon. "MP-5, kind of heavy for security in a place like that." Wade comments. The guard who pointed visibly raises his eyebrows at the weapon, but the armed guard taps on the desk, emphatically, then turns and heads away from the desk. After several seconds, the other guard looks down the North hall, then gets up and follows his partner. "Obviously, they weren't open for business?" Charley asked. "Nope, this was just after the offices closed for the night." was the reply.

"Now, this is what drew them from their desk. This is Lab 14, the door of which is ten feet from the service elevator. As you can see, a desktop computer suddenly goes active. Looks like an alert program, with a humorous screen-saver, so it appears not to be any kind of alarm." The armed guard comes in, weapon slung, sees the computer on, spreads his arms, and visibly roll his eyes. "Obviously not the first time this has happened, hence the lack of real concern." The door into the room was not visible from the camera, which was up in one corner. "Again a fixed camera, with no aids to widen it's view, which Shego took full advantage of."

The second guard enters the room, as the first goes to the active computer and punches a few keys. He then turns to the first guard with a grin, shrugging. "At this point, the service elevator arrives, and the camera above it is taken out." The two guards visibly start, and the unarmed one spins towards the door. Then, he takes an involuntary step backwards. His partner raises his gun, but his line of fire is blocked. Suddenly, a plasma blast hits the unarmed guard knocking him back, his partner dodges him, but is then hit himself before he can fire. Both guards hit the floor, apparently unconscious. Seconds later, the camera goes dead.

"Then, she starts working her way through the place. She manages to take out the cameras over the security desk without showing more then her boots or her fist, she aimed by mirror." Charley was frowning as she looked at the display. "She finally works her way to Lab 9, in the Southern Hallway, where the company's servers and mainframe are located. She entered a virus that wiped out everything, which is why this whole matter has been called industrial espionage."

"Do you have any crime scene photos from the police investigation? If so, show me the ones of Lab 14. While you're looking, was anything at all reported as stolen?" Wade could be heard typing away furiously. "No, they say the data wipe was all that happened. Ah, got your pictures!" A series of thumbnails were displayed. "Click on whichever you want, Charley." The girl took hold of the mouse and began bringing the photos up one at a time. She finally stopped on one. It displayed an upright, possibly refrigerated cabinet that was totally destroyed, apparently by Shego's plasma."Mark this one, Wade, and show me the attack on the guards again." Wade complied. "Okay, Shego fires two shots, and hits both guards square. Then she blasts the camera, which I put in the southwest corner of the room, agreed?" "Yes...I think I see...Why did that Cabinet take a hit?" "Exactly, Wade."

Ron nodded, "She wanted to destroy something in the cabinet, or hide the fact that she took something?" Charley nodded agreement, "According to the time stamps, it took her too long to get from her attack on the guards to taking out the east-facing camera over the desk. She was busy with something else. We need some proof of that, though."

"Hang on, let me see what else that building has." As Wade searched, Charley mused, "She found a way to activate that computer remotely, just to get one or both guards into that room, expressly to give her a cause to fire her plasma in there. She must have studied this place previously, and in detail, to do this. She may even have broken in before, just to plan a theft that wouldn't be detected, or reported as such."

"Oh, I am Good! Weight sensors in the service elevator. Eight in all, so weight distribution can be seen. I have Shego entering the elevator in the sub-basement, a little heavy, then look! She sets something down on one side on the elevator. Not heavy, maybe seven to ten pounds. Elevator goes to the target floor, she leaves...Yes! She comes back after attacking the guards. And the thing she set down gets four, no five pounds heavier. Then she leaves. She did take something, and put it in a container she brought, but what?" Wade's excitement ran down as he frowned.

"Wade, can you see if that Laboratory was mentioned prominently in any news stories around this time?" That search came up empty. "Okay, did they submit any new medicines, or announce they intended to, to whatever authorities applied?" Another failure. "Any Business rumors, or the like? Any odd behavior of their..." Wade cut Charley off, "Yes! A rumor on a stock blog, that they might have made a breakthrough in the treatment of neurological disorders! But, after Shego's visit, the 'rumor' is denounced as all fake."

Charley absorbed that, lost in thought. Then, "Okay, if my theory is correct, stealing an experimental drug might fit, but why destroy the research on it, which I assume was the purpose of blanking their database?" She paused, "And, why doesn't the company report it? If there was so much of the drug, that it weighed five pounds, why wasn't a sample given to government agencies for testing? The rumor on the stock blog was probably a plant, to excite interest. If so, they already had the drug, probably knew it would work. Were they successful in business, Wade? What was their previous history regarding discoveries?"

"Not so good, Charley, nothing since the 1960s, in fact. They have been getting by by licensing other companies' discoveries for manufacture."

"And suddenly, they have a potentially 'hot' property? Did they hire new people, get some genius from a rival to switch?"

"No, actually, they reduced their research staff six months ago. They seemed to be about to shift wholly to manufacture, and abandoning research, altogether."

"Could they have stolen the drug, and been trying to pass it off as their own discovery? Or, is the original creator someone they think they can cheat, whose word won't stand up against theirs? A criminal, or discredited scientist?" At Charley's words, Wade began to get excited again. "There are a couple of evil geniuses who have a medical inclination. Doctor Drakken actually patented a medicine three years ago. When the FDA found out who really made it, they tried to pull it, but it was in general use by then, and very effective. The Government has, however, been trying to keep Drakken from getting royalties from it's sale, and so far have succeeded. At least, in the United States."

"Do you think it's Doctor Drakken this time?" Wade considered that, but shook his head. "No, I don't. I think it might be Adrian Pharm, actually. Doctor Pharm has been rumored to have helped 'Iron out' problems with some nerve weapons. And if that's so, based on some of his past history, he might also have researched a cure for some of them. He has also submitted a drug for testing, which alleviates the symptoms in some severe muscular disorders, but it has been 'hung up' in the FDA's testing programs for a long time, as well as those in other countries. Possibly because of Drakken's previous success."

"So, he may have tried to run a new one through this company, and they tried to claim it as their own. So, he hires Shego, who I suspect went to him looking for a cure to Kim's condition, and he told her about the drug, and the company, in exchange for her destroying their research on it."

"So, you're saying Shego is trying to cure Kim of a disease, that I'm partially responsible for her having?" Ron blurted out. He shook his head, "Why didn't she just bring the cure to Kim's mom?"

"Because, Ron, if Kim's mom gave her the medicine.." Wade explained, "She might go to jail for it, and she would certainly lose her license. Kim wouldn't let her risk that, and that's why Kim might have gone with Shego voluntarily."

"This is just too much! I mean, Shego! Trying to help...Oh, Hi, Mrs Doctor P." Ann Possible stood on the stairs, consternation on her face. She slowly shook her head, then suddenly seemed to realize where she was. She looked at Ron and then Charley. "Um, Dinner is ready, you both need to wash up." Still looking distracted, she then turned and walked down the stairs.

Ron looked at Charley. "Oh, _Man!_ That is not good, definitely not good."

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Please Read and Review.


	5. First Moves

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible, or any of the other characters from that show, or any other media that I may reference in my stories.

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The morning after her 'non-encounter', Shego ate her breakfast mechanically, while her brain occupied itself with her plans for the day. She ignored Eliana, and Inez, who exchanged shrugs at one point, with Eliana being left to frown across the table at the pale thief while Inez went and busied herself in the kitchen. The doctor finally had to break the silence. "I don't think Kimberley will be coming down today."

Shego blinked, then looked at Eliana, eyes focusing. "What? Why not, is she worse?" Shego asked, a concerned frown on her face.

"Yes, and no, actually. She is weaker, and I am going to give her an IV this afternoon, just fluids, basically, to battle dehydration. She can't intake enough water comfortably to keep her fluid levels up." She sighed, "Ana, you have placed me in such a situation! I never had to deal with such diseases before in my life! I mean, to diagnose them, perhaps, but not this level of treatment, on a disease we know so little about!"

"But Doctor Pharm did cure someone of this, and he gave me clear instructions, right?"

Eliana threw up her hands. "One case is not sufficient to establish..._Si, _the instructions are clear, Ana, but it is all so uncertain."

Shego smiled, sympathetically, "I know, and I'm sorry, but you're the only one I could trust, I couldn't try doing it myself, after all! I could have tried to get Pharm to do it, but even though I would have trusted him with her as a patient, he has too many acquaintances who could have found out about her. They wouldn't have done anything while she was under his care, but afterwards? While she was still weak?"

"On that subject, how long will she stay here after she is cured? It will take her weeks to regain her full strength, will she be able to stay away from her family that long? Otherwise, how will she explain her condition?"

"Yeah, well, about that." Shego scowled, "No, I don't think she'll want to stay, once we're sure all traces of the disease are gone, and all traces of the drug are gone from her system. But she knows that to go back, and not tell the truth, will require her to lie to her family and friends. If she wants the truth to remain a secret, she has to do one thing she _can't_ do well!" Shego suddenly smirked, "Or, we might have to go with the amnesia bit." She rolled her eyes, "Like that will get past _anyone._" She then stared at Eliana, "You said Yes, and No?"

Eliana nodded, "Yes, we have some good news, there seems to be something happening around the edges of the affected area of her skin. It matches what Doctor Pharm recorded as a sign that the medication is working, reducing the infected area." she sighed then, shaking her head, "But, there is still the question of whether or not we have enough medication to completely eliminate it. If not, it will only start to spread again. If only we could get more of it made!"

Shego shook her head, "Not likely. Pharm always puts a 'twist' in his creations, making straightforward analysis of them deceptive. And, I kept my word to him to erase all records of whatever headway that drug company had made in figuring it out. And, I doubt there is a written record anywhere in Pharm's lair for me to try and steal, which is the only way to go and keep my word to Kim." She looked towards the stairs, "And, I want her to trust my word. And, I want to show respect for her decisions." She frowned, "Dammit, Princess! Why do you have to be so...You!"

"Why don't you go up and talk to her? I know you are uncomfortable because of her sickness, but I know too little about her, our conversations have gotten rather stale, to be honest. She needs someone she can talk more to, without explaining so much about what she is talking about."

Shego looked torn for a minute, but then nodded, resignedly. "Yeah, I ought to talk to her before I go pay a call on Reithan, anyway. She needs to know a couple of things, in any case." She looked Eliana in the eye, face completely serious, "I want Inez leaving well before sunset, no matter what, okay? Have her leave something we can heat up later, and leave the dishes to us, or until morning."

The doctor nodded, equally serious, "I will make sure of it, Ana. If it is late when she leaves, and you are not here, I will drive her to the village, provided, of course, that you put the engine of our little jeep back together after your last 'overhaul'?"

Shego colored slightly, but nodded, "Yes, Eliana, I won't forget that again, I promise, the jeep is ready to run, new engine and all!" As Inez collected the dirty dishes, Shego rose. "Going up to talk to Kim, if she's awake."

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In Middleton, Charley Cob was awakened by someone knocking on the door of the Motel room she and JJ had shared the night before. Though there was a Global Justice facility in the city, it had been agreed the girls would not be housed there, partially to avoid having them frequently coming and going from the base, especially after possibly attracting attention by visiting the Possible home. So, admitting that there was no convenient way for them to stay with the Possibles, the girls had sought other accommodations for the night.

Waking enough to link with Fred, who was lurking outside the rooms they occupied, Charley was puzzled to see some kind of deliveryman at their door. Throwing her covers off, she was on her feet and halfway to the door before she remembered that answering a door in the nude wasn't exactly normal behavior hereabouts. She spun back to her bed and grabbed a bathrobe, spying JJ awake and watching from the other bed. "Should have made you answer the door, you have clothes on." The redhead smirked, "Yep, but not the kind to answer doors in." She then pulled the covers back over her head.

Covered, Charley opened the door. "Charley Cob, with one 'b'?" She nodded, "Package for you, please sign here, and here." She did, and took possession of the package. Closing the door, she returned to sit on her bed, studying the markings on the package. JJ poked her head out from under the covers again and regarded the package curiously. "Global Justice?"

Charley shrugged, "Guess so, I mean, who else knows about us?" She opened the package carefully, by which time JJ was out from under the covers, on her knees on her bed, smoothing her nightshirt down, impatiently waiting. Charley finally opened the top of the package and removed some padding, before removing a note, and four devices. She read the note, eyebrows rising as she did. "These are from Wade, Communications devices, with a few other useful functions." She held one up and studied it, then checked the instructions, before again poking around in the package, finding four more items under more padding. These were obviously meant to be hooked over the ear. "Two piece system, belt unit, and ear-piece, with extendible microphone, says he is still working on a visor to go with them, but they are fully functional as is."

JJ hopped off the bed and went to the connecting doors between their room and the Reeder twins'. Both doors were ajar, so she walked right through. "Hey! Wakey, Wakey! We got some new gear!" She returned to examine the new equipment herself. The Belt Unit was similar to the Kimmunicator that Kim had first carried, Though slimmed down, and encased in black plastic.

It took the Reeders nearly three minutes to appear, still rubbing the sleep from their eyes. Charley blinked at their appearance, since they appeared to have split one set of pajamas between them. Pointing at Belle, who wore the bottoms, she asked, "Why?"

Beth grinned, "Oh, she would probably sleep in the raw like you, Charley, but would be too afraid someone might see her tattoo." Belle gaped at her, aghast, "That's not true! Plenty of people have seen...I mean, I put them on because you didn't, so there!" Charley and JJ exchanged looks, then both rolled their eyes, _'Twins' _. Beth, however wasn't done, "You know, if you want to wear the kind of swimsuits that make us look good, you're going to have to get used to showing it off." As Belle opened her mouth to give a hot retort, Charley cut her off, "Or, she can just ask me to have the boys remove it." Both girls stopped, slightly startled, then their eyes fell on the open package, and they forgot all about tattoos.

After examining their new acquisitions for several minutes, with Charley studying the instruction sheet, the dark haired girl looked up. "Going to give Wade a call, but first, Belle, you better cover up."

"Huh? Oh, right! Be right back." Both twins left the room, in fact, before Charley initiated the call. "Not going to ask how you found us," Charley said as soon as the boy genius' face appeared on the screen, "Would have been child's play for you, right?"

"Hey guys! Yeah, I can do something like that in my sleep. So, think up anything else we can use to find Kim? I know some people who can confirm what we worked out yesterday, since you can't leave the country." When Charley looked surprised, he explained, "Been doing some checking, your new identities have not been submitted for Passports, so you can't legally leave the country, as American citizens." The Reeders reentered the room, having divided another set of pajamas to cover their previous deficiencies. The two sets didn't match, but no one was present, Physically or remotely, who cared one way or the other.

"Well, we may need to, if the trail leads outside this country. Legality we can settle later with Doctor Director. As to your questions, No, I'm sure enough of our conclusions, so no need to send anyone to Europe; And yes, I have thought of something obvious enough to make me blush, that I didn't think of it yesterday." At Wade's quizzical look, she explained, "Who is actually treating Kim, if we're right? Can Shego do it herself, or would she? We need to check out doctors she might associate with."

Wade nodded solemnly, "You're right, that is kind of an obvious question. As to who she'd have doing it, most of the doctors who she associates with are criminals, I don't know if she would trust Kim under their care."

"And she would hardly ask her family doctor, or her regular physician, to do it, would she?" Charley asked, rhetorically.

"Well, as to her family, she grew up in an orphanage, so she would have been treated by a doctor employed by Go City...sometimes those doctors are good, sometimes they are the ones who will work the cheapest...you know, that might be worth checking out. I'll talk to you later, got some digging to do!"

"Okay, Wade, bye!" As she turned off the Comm, she looked up to see the others regarding her intently. "What?"

"What if Kim is outside the country, how do we go and rescue her, anyway?" Beth asked, "All our equipment is back with Global Justice, and we can't buy tickets without passports, and I bet using our credit cards for that would alert GJ, anyway."

"Certainly would." Charley agreed, "But we'll handle that problem when we get to it." She stood up and shucked off her robe. "Taking the shower first, we better get dressed and go get some breakfast." She then walked into the bathroom and shut the door. After a minute, when they heard the shower start, Beth turned to the others, "Okay, what am I missing?"

Belle rolled her eyes, while JJ answered, "Thundagirl is back at Global, too, as well as three of the boys. And the boys can get into all the labs where our equipment is stored, so..."

Beth grimaced, "Ah, right, forgot about that! And you figured it out before me?" This last to Belle, who smiled smugly, "I see. 'Kay, you were first to figure it out, so I get to be first in the shower!" And she bolted for the connecting doors, getting a significant head start before her sister unfroze. "Like Hell you are!" Belle shouted futilely as she gave chase.

JJ just ignored them, and began studying the instructions for their new gear. She had a notion they didn't have a lot of time to familiarize themselves with it...

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Kim wasn't in her bed when Shego entered her room. Since the bathroom door was open, and that room clearly unoccupied, Shego went to the small balcony. It was too small for furniture, meant only to be stood on, as one gazed out at the scenery. Kim was sitting on it, however, her head resting on one of the bars of the cast iron railing that encircled it, as she gazed down on the pool area, lost in her thoughts.

"I would offer a penny for your thoughts, but then I'd have to steal it back to maintain my rep."

Kim smiled tiredly, but didn't look up. "You wouldn't have much trouble with that, Ana." Shego cocked her head and frowned slightly at the use of her real name by Kim, but then shrugged lightly and stepped onto the balcony, leaning back against the railing at the opposite end from Kim, as she addressed the teen, "You never did tell me where you learned my real name. 'Course, probably from Nerdlinger, he must have hacked Henchco's file on my brothers and me and read it."

Kim sighed, then looked up. "There were pictures in Mister Frailey's apartment in Go City, showing him with some of the orphans. One was with you, and had your name written on it." Shego's face clouded over at the mention of a man she had trusted as a child, who had turned out to be in league with human monsters. Kim saw the look, and apologized, "I'm sorry, Shego. I didn't need to tell you that." She went back to her original pose, gazing into the distance.

Shego's rising temper reversed itself at that, and she looked in surprise at the girl. "_Worries about hurting me over that! I let her get hurt then, and I'm responsible for her suffering now, and she worries about hurting me!"_ Aloud, she said, "No Big, Kim, I have to manage my anger better, otherwise I'll have to shell out more cash to Doc Cardien." Mention of their therapist brought a smile to Kim's face. She looked up, square into Shego's eyes, "Don't think for a moment I don't know that you and my Mom were in on that together, getting me to agree to therapy." Shego's eyes widened in mild shock, "But, it was the only way I could swallow my pride and go, after telling Mom 'No', so many times. Possible women find it hard to admit they're wrong, sometimes."

"Well, don't get any idea that I was there just for you, Pumpkin, I went there to help get my own head straight, and Doc Cardien actually did suggest joint sessions, not me." She paused, regarding th girl curiously, "Was what happened in Go City the first thing that ever happened to you, that made her suggest Therapy?"

Kim winced slightly. "No, she suggested it when I had nightmares about missions, and about you. But, I said I'd be all right, and I was! Eventually, anyway!"

Uncomfortable, ironically, with the idea she had given the girl nightmares, and wanting to change the subject, Shego ventured, "What were you thinking about, when I arrived." That decision didn't work out very well.

"I was thinking about the little girl in the cage, and about..." Kim saw the puzzled look on Shego's face. "Oh, I guess I talked to Doctor Cardien privately about that one...you know, don't you, that Macheles and his people didn't sexually abuse the children they had, the really young ones? I know, now, that it was finding out they were about to acquire the Wegos before the 'comet' thing spoiled their plans, that set you off that night."

"Well, they sure abused them when they got older! And, they had them participate in those freak sex shows of theirs! When Macheles had me confused, unable to think straight, he had two of his bimbos take my clothes off for the entertainment of the audience! Each piece they took off, they gave to a pair of little girls, no more then eight years old! One acted like it was a game, the other just did it like a little zombie, and she had welts on her backside!" Kim visibly flinched at that, and dropped her gaze. "Sorry, Princess, I know you aren't defending them, I just can't see anything but red when I think of that place! What kind of lessons did those kids learn there, Gods!" She shut up then, afraid she might lose control.

Kim was silent for several minutes, then she began to speak softly, "She was in a cage in the back, I think it was meant for a dog. They were holding me there, waiting for Macheles to spare the time for me, and she was right there! The other children looked at her like they were frightened, I guess she was an example for them. Except one little boy, he smiled...I wanted her to look up at me, I wanted to give her hope, I wanted...to save her." She sobbed, "I thought of how wrong it was for something like that to happen to someone so young, and then it hit me, that _I_ was young, and maybe I had no business trying to save her, that I should have let people more qualified do it!"

"You did save her Kimmie, and you paid a price to do it. It might not have been the smartest way to go about it, but because of you, that place was put out of business." Shego had an urge to hug the girl, but sensed that more was to come. "And, you never set out to get hurt like you have, you set out to help people, and you did, so many that I have a hard time believing it. Only you can say if it was all worth it."

Kim was silent again, letting tears run freely down her cheeks. After a bit, though, you began to speak again. "I was also thinking of the Kimpostor. You asked me once if I saw her die, and I don't think I ever actually said, but yes, I did. She looked just like...Mom once took a video of me doing a floor routine in gymnastics, and I did it perfectly, and I was in the _exact, same,_ pose, she was, when the altar exploded and killed her. For so long, I was able to suppress that image, Me, Triumphant, and then, Me, Dead!" She wiped her cheeks dry, "But that image keeps coming back lately, reminding me how quickly it could all end." She met Shego's gaze again, "But it doesn't make me want to quit, does that make me brave, or stupid?"

Shego shrugged, "Not fearless?" that brought a snort from Kim, "No, Kimmie knows when to be scared, doesn't she? Just hides it well, because it can be infectious, and the people you're saving have to believe you aren't scared, so they can feel less afraid, themselves." She smiled at the girl, "What matters is, that you know what's an act, and what isn't. When you forget to acknowledge that fear in you, you are just letting it build up, ready to swamp you when it does get out." She looked out over the hills. "After all, we can't all be fearless, like me."

That brought a truly derisive snort from Kim, who stared at the green woman for a minute. "Okay, enough about me, what did you come up here to talk to me about? Our mystery neighbor, perhaps?"

"Ah, yes, the good Doctor Reithan. Well, the bad news is, she's almost certainly DNAmy's new 'apprentice'." Kim's eyes widened, all amusement gone, "And, as you might guess, the 'monsters' are real, too, I nearly met one last night." She then recounted her encounter of the night before. Kim heard her out, then asked, "Why didn't you force the issue, you probably could have gotten a good fight going."

"Yeah, and what if I'd lost? I mean, it's possible, much as I hate to admit it, and then what? Also, none of the monsters have hurt anyone yet, and they have to have had opportunity to do so. So, might not have been smart to escalate things, without knowing how many more of them are out there." Kim considered that, then nodded, "Well, what are you planning, now? A courtesy call on her?"

Shego snorted in amusement, "Well, I don't know how 'courteous' I'll be, but on the very unlikely chance she isn't the bad guy, I'll soft-pedal it as much as possible." She looked down at the girl, and adopted a scolding tone,"Didn't your mother ever tell you about sitting on cold concrete?" then she grinned, before adding, "Come on, let's get you back inside, you'll be getting lunch and dinner in bed tonight, if you hadn't heard." She helped the girl to her feet, and was mildly surprised that Kim leaned on her so readily.

After helping Kim back to the bed, and watching her ease herself into a comfortable position, Shego took a cell phone from one pocket and handed it to Kim. "Okay, listen, don't ask how I got it, but the first number on speed dial is Nerdlinger's. If I don't come back by dinnertime, or if anything else alarming happens, Kimmie Phone Home! I don't know if anyone can get here quickly, but make the call, Okay?" Kim nodded solemnly. "Okay, I have to get ready for my visit, have to try and keep my identity a secret if possible, so a little make-up is in order."

When Shego started down the stairs over an hour later, she caused Inez, carrying Kim's lunch tray, to stop in amazement. Shego now had a healthy tan, and a realistic set of contact lenses, altering her eye color to sapphire blue. Her hair was pulled back into a single braid, held in place partially by two silver bands about three inches wide. She wore a short sleeve white blouse, canvas bush pants tucked into sturdy boots, and an olive hunter's vest. She smiled at Inez, "Well, what do you think? Will I pass as a 'normal' woman, instead of my unique natural self?"

Inez was befuddled, unsure how to respond. Finally, she just nodded, then went up the stairs to Kim's room. Eliana Chosa, looking up from one of the couches in the living room, studied her friend critically. "Well, someone would have to know you fairly well to recognize you, Ana."

Shego nodded, "Hope so, I'd like to take her by surprise, if there's trouble." She looked up towards Kim's door, "You're giving her that IV after lunch?" Eliana nodded. "Look, maybe, if I don't come back before dinnertime, you should all three go to the village...Ah, no, if Reithan really wants you, that may bring trouble down on the villagers! I wish...Well, never mind, I just have to make sure I don't screw up, is all."

Shego then went over to a gun cabinet in one corner, and unlocked it, taking out a .308 hunting rifle, which she began to load. Eliana regarded the weapon dubiously, "I suppose you can justify carrying that, but do you think it is necessary?"

Shego nodded, "Yeah, my plasma is great, but it's kind of _slow. _After all, Kimmie has been dodging it for years. And right now, I'm having trouble focusing it for ranged blasts." She saw comprehension in Eliana's eyes, "Yep, that time of the month! I am _sooo_ glad that little secret never got out, I would never have heard the end of the jokes, especially from men. Bad enough Kim found out, and used it to goad me twice." She smirked, "But only twice. The second time, she had a very clever little jab, but she didn't know Stoppable was in earshot. When he asked her what she was talking about, I swear she blushed so hard she nearly glowed in the dark! After that the matter was taboo, as it should have been."

She put spare rounds in her vest pockets, then slung the rifle over her shoulder. "Okay, I'm off! If things get bad, Eliana, save yourself." She paused, then shook her head, "What am I saying? Kim won't forgive you, or herself, if you get hurt protecting her, and you'll never abandon a patient! Why do I associate with such stubborn women!" She smiled at Eliana, "Like I said, I had better not screw this up!"

It took forty minutes for Shego to locate the doctor's camp. Once away from the house, she had hoped to find tracks from Reithan's jeep, but the thunderstorm before her arrival home had washed those away. She found several sets of footprints made since the storm, but they seemed to be on literally every side trail she passed. "_She's covering a lot of ground, whatever she's doing."_ Finally reaching a high point with a good view of the surroundings, she spotted a flash of yellow in the jungle, which turned out to be the jeep in question.

She chose to approach the camp openly, which became pointless when she found it empty. Two tents were pitched, one being open, with tables bearing scientific equipment set up inside. Next to the tents, several wooden crates were arranged, the largest crate standing eight feet tall, by three and a half feet on a side. "_Didn't bring that in in her jeep, or that little trailer, she has had a delivery made, without the locals seeing it done." _A humming noise seeming to come from beyond the crates suggested a generator in operation.

Peering into the open tent, Shego saw nothing not in keeping with Reithan's claim of being an entomologist at work. Specimens, dead ones, anyway, and other scientific paraphernalia littered the tables, including a tempting notebook lying open. Shego didn't tempt. Whether it was bait for an alarm system or not, she suspected it's contents would also jive with Reithan's cover. She assumed the presence of alarms, not least because something had caused her senses to go to high alert as soon as she entered the camp.

Checking the jeep, Shego saw no indication that it had been moved recently at all, maybe not since Reithan's initial arrival. It was a rental, and in good condition. There was nothing special about the trailer, either. And Shego was determined not to poke around the closed tent until she had given Reithan a chance to show.

After loitering about the camp for twenty minutes, a sense of being observed began to impose itself on Shego's consciousness. Unlike the previous night, however, this had no one fixed source. Scanning a the surrounding jungle, however, she saw nothing. "_But they're there, all right. If they aren't Reithan's creatures, then something may have happened to her, but I doubt it." _Then, what she sensed changed, becoming threatening. She unslung the rifle and chambered a round, just as a section of jungle suddenly charged her.

And it appeared as if that was exactly what happened, Shego couldn't make out a shape to the movement until it was fifteen yards away, when it became vaguely humanoid. And big, at least ten feet tall. She put a bullet in it, and it staggered, letting out a grunt. Then it howled, and charged again. A second howl broke out to her right rear, almost as close. But she gave the first monster another shot, aiming for what appeared to be it's head, before spinning towards the second threat.

This one she saw clearly, and could think of nothing but sasquatch done up in jungle camo. It had patches of brown skin, and long green fur in various shades. It's face had all the right parts, in the right number, with eyes that appeared to be all pupil, and long, sharp, teeth. And it was less then ten yards away when she pumped two shots into it. When that did little, she fired her last round into one leg, which dropped it, then dashed instinctively away from the original attacker as she tried to reload. She wasn't quite quick enough, as one massive hand got hold of her braid, and pulled...

And a bright arc of electricity jumped from one of the silver bands, causing the monster to let go and recoil, letting out a wail of agony, it's right hand literally smoking. Shego had charged her little bands for monster, hoping no human set one off. Gasping in pain from the hair pull, Shego still chambered a bullet before the creature released her, and fed another into the magazine before spinning and firing twice into the monster's head. It promptly went limp, and crashed backwards to the ground.

Before Shego could reload, a shadow fell over her. A third monster had charged silently forwards, probably screened by the big crate until it was close. It knocked the rifle from her hand, but missed with a swing at her head. The gloves officially being off, Shego lit her plasma and attacked, practically eviscerating the new arrival. She then turned to find the leg-shot monster coming towards her, and fired the strongest blast she could muster, something less then her best. Nevertheless, it was effective enough to cause the beast to reel away, batting at it's smoldering chest.

Shego bent to snatch up her rifle, and caught a glimpse of something coming in low and fast through some tall grass. Then it rose up and coiled, and her jaw dropped. It looked like a cobra, hood and all, but the size of a full grown Boa. It was mottled black and red, and had a third eye in the middle of it's head. When she saw that it had only vestigial fangs, she guessed it was a spitter, and as it pulled back it's head, as if to strike, she prepared to dodge.

"Hold!" Shego's eyes snapped from the snake to the figure of Doctor Reithan, who was entering the camp to her right, then back to the snake, which indeed seemed to be obeying the spoken command. Looking back at Reithan, Shego saw that she was holding an odd-looking red and silver pistol. Experience with many odd-looking guns cause Shego to go quite still, calculating her odds. She had an empty rifle in hand, but a bluff was pointless if Reithan had been watching. Unless the woman was a rank amateur, she'd never light her plasma in time to blast her, unless she could be distracted. Shego chose to bide her time. If Reithan hadn't fired yet, maybe she was a ranter, and Shego knew how to play them. "_I've certainly seen Kimmie do it often enough."_

"Well, well, I thought I had a normal woman here, but you aren't 'normal', are you? You needn't bother answering, I know who you must be, but why are you here?" Receiving no answer, she continued, "Most likely, the owner of that jet that landed at my 'neighbors', which means it is your home, or hideout, or both. And, you have Kim Possible as your house guest, very curious, indeed." The look on her face went from calculating to cold, "What a shame it would have been to kill such an interesting potential lab subject."

Shego's outrage was clear on her face. "Lab Subject! Sorry, Lady, not this girl!" Reithan was still a good thirty feet away, but Shego tried to fling the rifle at her as a diversion. But she barely began the motion, when her world stopped. Everything moved in a blur, and she couldn't feel anything. One blur, which had the right colors to have been Reithan, seemed to move up on her right side. Something forcefully seemed to shift her vision to the right.

As quickly as it stopped her world returned to normal, and Shego found the clothes ripped from her shoulder, and a funny tingling sensation from a spot near her neck. Then, the world started spinning, and she found herself face down on the ground. "_Eliana, Kim, I screwed up, I.."_ and the world went black.

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As requested, Inez made some food suitable for a later heating for Kim, Shego, and Eliana. So Doctor Chosa, anxious to get the girl safely home, decided to drive her quickly home, and return to prepare the meal herself. After telling Kim of her decision, she talked a protesting Inez into the jeep, and drove off.

Twenty minutes later, Kim was examining the infected area on her chest, prodding parts of the skin that appeared to be regaining their normal color again. She was feeling a little better than she had that morning, possibly because of the IV, or maybe her spirits were lifted by Eliana's conclusion that some progress was being made against the disease.

She heard a distinct rumble of thunder in the distance, followed minutes later by another. Through her own window, the skies were visibly becoming more cloudy, and she began to worry seriously about Shego, and Eliana. When she heard a noise from downstairs, however, she suppressed the urge to call out. She knew, somehow, that if it was either woman she was expecting, _they _would have called to her.

Pushing her shirt back down, she moved the covers aside, and slid out of bed on the right, closest to the hallway door. Pausing to insure she had her balance, she moved towards the door. And immediately stopped, grimacing, but not from pain. She turned back around and circled the bed to get to her nightstand, where the cell phone Shego had left her sat. Picking it up, she resumed her approach to the door.

Opening the door as silently as possible, she peered out, up and down the hall, and saw nothing. She then stepped cautiously across to the rail, scanning the living room below. But she had to get to the rail itself before she spotted Elizabeth Reithan almost directly below her, looking up.

"Why, Hello, 'Alice'! Is Doctor Chosa about? We wanted a word with her, and you too, of course, Miss Possible." The smug look on the doctor's face sent an alarm through Kim's mind. She stepped back from the rail, and flipped open the cell. Almost instantly, something struck her hand, sending the phone flying, and causing her hand to go numb. But only for a few seconds. Then, pure agony shot through her, throughout her whole body, sending her crashing to the floor, curling up into an involuntary fetal position.

The pain abated after a few seconds. Breath coming in short pants, Kim managed to refocus her vision, and wished she hadn't. A green and black, spider-like creature was crawling down from the railing and moving towards her. Unlike her unseen night visitor, this one had two coiled, whip-like tentacles, in place of the spike-tipped limbs. It came to within three feet of her, then suddenly lashed out with one of the tentacles, making contact with Kim's bare calf. Again, numbness was followed by excruciating pain, causing the girl to spasm so violently she slammed her head into the railing, and knocked herself nearly unconscious.

"Enough!" Reithan's voice penetrated the cloud that was trying to close over Kim's mind. She felt and heard the woman's footsteps as they approached. She sensed her kneeling besides her, then taking her chin in her hands and turning her neck painfully. Kim forced her eyes open, and found herself staring into two cruel gray orbs. Reithan regarded her without emotion, then looked along her body. "And where is this problem they are treating you for?" She pulled Kim's collar down, frowned, and began tugging her top off. Kim tried to fight her off, but the woman suddenly looked at the spider, and Kim found herself spasming in agony again, and cursing in a way that would have gotten her grounded for a year back home. By the time she was finished spasming, she was naked from the waist up, and Reithan was pinning her down with a forearm across her throat, while dispassionately studying her chest.

"Is that all of it?" She looked Kim in the eyes. Receiving no answer, just a defiant glare, she grabbed hold of the waistband of Kim's pants, causing the girl to scream, "Yes! That's all of it, really!" Reithan looked the girl in the eyes for a moment, then nodded, "Well, you should have said so in the first place." She then proceeded to strip the struggling, but feeble, teenager naked, leaving her crying from frustration and humiliation. After looking the girl over cursorily, she let out a sigh, "Well, you were telling the truth, after all! In future, you might be wise to remember that I expect obedience, and to have my questions answered promptly, and honestly."

Kim heard more footsteps, _heavy_ footsteps, and tried to look towards the head of the stairs, while also trying to cover herself, and retrieve her top. She had just spotted the head of one of Reithan's monsters cresting the top step when the woman looked at her spider creation and made a two-fingered gesture. Both tentacles struck together, hitting Kim on the sole of one foot and the calf of her other leg. The girl's body arched rigidly for several seconds, before it went limp as she lapsed into unconsciousness.

Reithan's face was utterly expressionless as she regarded the teen. After several minutes contemplation, she nodded, "I think we will take her with us, as well. Take her back to the camp, and wait for me there." This was to the large monster who proceeded to pick up the unconscious girl, "I don't think we need worry about her catching cold like that, as warm as it is, however..." She pulled a small sphere from her pocket, and pressed it to Kim's shoulder, near her neck. A slight hiss came from the sphere, after which Reithan returned it to her pocket. "I do hope that doesn't conflict with whatever drugs they have been giving her." Her expression didn't show concern to match the words. "And now, to leave something for Doctor Chosa."

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Fifty-seven minutes later, Eliana Chosa drove into the house's detached garage. Rain was now beginning to come down in earnest, and she was already frustrated by the delay in her return. But, she was a doctor, and there were things she couldn't turn her back on. And helping sew up the hand of a local carpenter who had been careless with one of his tools, then talking him into believing he _really_ had to take a couple of days away from his work to let it heal, had taken far too much time.

As she emerged from the garage, she saw there were no lights in the house. "_If Ana were back, there would be lights on, but if it is still just Kimberley here..."_ she moved to the garden doors, which she found locked. "_Which may be a good sign, except...Ana would have left the light on for me, if she had locked up, and it is only seven o'clock..." _The sky was so dark as to make the area black as full night, and Eliana had plenty of reasons to be nervous already. She unlocked the door and slipped inside. And the next, almost inevitable, thing happened. The light switch didn't work. "_And we know what this means, don't we?"_

Her first impulse was to back out of the house. But, she looked towards the upstairs. "_Not without knowing whether Kimberley is all right." _She reached behind a planter next to the doors and produced a flashlight, a heavy, metal one. She switched it on and swept the room. Nothing out of the ordinary was visible. She then began circling the room towards the gun cabinet. Only to find it locked. She had a key for it, but didn't carry it on her person. It was upstairs in her nightstand. And when Shego bought the cabinet, she made sure it couldn't be broken into easily.

Thwarted, she moved onwards, anyway, heading to the staircase and starting up, all the while sweeping with her light. It wasn't until she reached the top of the stairs that she saw the first clear signs of trouble. Two of the throw rugs in the hallway had been violently disturbed. And then, her flashlight picked out a bundle of cloth she thought she recognized. Moving quickly forward, she picked it up, even as she spotted another that she recognized. "_The clothes Kimberley had on, but why?" _Then she heard movement.

Swinging her light up she illuminated one of Reithan's spider creatures, scurrying down the hall towards her. This one had the spike tipped limbs on it's head, which were partially extended as it approached. Eliana jumped back, and threw Kim's top at it. Oddly, it not only stopped, but skittered several feet backwards, the unfolding shirt apparently reminding it of something it feared.

Turning to run, Eliana froze immediately, as a second spider appeared at the top of the stairs. Her only remaining option was the door to her own room. Just as she reached for the knob, however, she heard a skittering noise from beyond the door, and backed away, against the railing. Looking up, she saw a third creature climbing through the open transom. As it prepared to leap at her, she thought she heard glass breaking somewhere behind and below her. Then it leaped, and she swung wildly at it with her flashlight, and...

She found herself outside in the rain, with someone wrapping their arms around her from behind. "It's Okay, you're safe!" A voice shouted. Bewildered, she looked around. She was just outside the gardens, facing the house. She saw three figures moving quickly towards the door, and entering without forcing it. Then, a voice beside here shouted, "Where's Kim?", and she looked to see a young man with his hair plastered to his head by the rain, an anxious look on his face. He wore a rain slicker, and it was propped up on one shoulder by something..._alive_, with small beady eyes that peered out at her.

The arms holding her released her, as the boy repeated his question, more stridently this time. "Ron! Calm down, don't make me regret bringing you, please?" Turning around, Eliana saw a smallish girl, bulked up in some sort of shiny armor, regarding her. "Doctor Chosa, am I correct?" Eliana managed a nod to the polite query, but the girl was suddenly distracted. "JJ, one of them is hiding under the bookcase at the south end of the room! Uh, Belle, that wasn't a hostile creature. Yes, I'm sure. The breeze from the door you left open made it move." She returned her attention to Eliana, "My name is Charley Cob, and this is Ron Stoppable, we came here looking for Kim Possible, but you know that already."

Eliana studied them both for a moment, then decided she had no option but to trust them. "I don't think she is here any more, and Ana is missing, as well." She continued to look around the night, waiting for another monster to rear it's head. Her flashlight was still turned on, but she held it pointing upwards, only dimly illuminating her surroundings. Charley put her finger against her ear-piece "All clear inside, let's get out of the rain." It took considerable prodding, however, to get Eliana Chosa back inside. "Belle, power is turned off at the main, it's in a small room down the first floor hallway, towards the south end of the building. Manual switch, Ben can't re-engage it."

Eliana, with Ron Stoppable at her side, didn't move more then a step from the door until the lights came on. Ron then turned to Eliana, "Please, can you tell me, is Kim all right?" Eliana saw the sincere concern, and fear in the boy's eyes. "She was...improving, before this occurred, that is all I can say."

"Is 'Ana' Anastasia Whitlock, also known as Shego?" Charley asked her. As she nodded, Eliana spotted Saul zipping down from the second floor. As her eyes widened, the little skull turned and headed into the kitchen. The lack of concern her 'rescuers' showed helped keep her from overreacting to the sight. "We're all clear, as far as our these mutant insects are concerned." Eliana's eyes widened as she suddenly saw JJ poking one of the dead creatures, the one apparently spotted under the bookcase. "I saw three of them, all upstairs."

Charley nodded, "All accounted for, and T-Girl has scanned a half mile radius, no more around." Seeing that confusion and shock were about to catch up with Eliana, she smiled at the woman. "I think you should get some dry clothes on, and I'll try and get something for you to calm your nerves, maybe hot tea?" Eliana slowly nodded. Then she seemed to rally, and shook her head, "No, we must find Kimberley and Ana, first!"

"I know," Charley reassured her, "I know, but where would we look?" Eliana's jaw tightened, then she spat out, "This Doctor Reithan! Elizabeth Reithan! Ana thinks she is working with this DNAmy person, and she went to find her camp this morning!"

" DNAmy!?" Ron exclaimed, "Well, that explains the spider things! If she has Kim, we have to find her!" The boy was practically vibrating with suppressed anxiety, and desire to do something, anything.

"We will, Ron, we will, I promise you, now calm down. We missed her here, but we _will_ find her, I promise you!" Charley placated the anxious boy. Rufus popped out from under Ron's slicker and descended to the floor, and began searching about for clues. "Ron, call Wade and ask him to check out this Reithan woman, Okay? I'll have T-Girl search for this camp of hers." Charley turned back to Doctor Chosa, "About Kim's treatment? How far had her condition progressed, and were there any positive signs?" After a moment's hesitation, Eliana told Charley all that had happened with regard to Kim's condition, calming down considerably as she did. Even the sight of the 'boys' popping in and out of the various rooms didn't disturb her. When she was done, Charley convinced her to get dried out and cleaned up, and walked her up to her bedroom, assuring her the creature who had attacked her was no longer in the room.

When that was done, Charley turned to examine the remains of one of the dead creatures. With Fred doing the scanning while she studied her bracer's displays, Charley ran a DNA analysis of the creature, and frowned. Spotting Kim's discarded clothes, she scanned them, too, and her look of bewilderment and concern caused JJ to approach her. "Charley, what's the matter?"

"There is non-terrestrial DNA in that creature, and I found skin cells on Kim's shirt that...Hang on." All four girls heard T-Girl report no signs of more monsters, or any humans outside the village, for five miles.

"Charley! Wade has found something on this Elizabeth Reithan!" Ron called from below. As Charley unclipped her belt comm, she pointed past Ron. "Looks like Rufus found something, too." Ron turned to see Rufus standing on the back of the couch, holding a small object in his hand. After studying it a moment, without taking it from his friend, Ron opined, "Looks like a French Burnt peanut, except it's bluish looking, must have spoiled." Ron turned away, and missed as Rufus twisted the 'peanut', revealing it to be a small container that unscrewed. Inside, it held a small blob of blue material, the consistency of toothpaste.

As Rufus studied it curiously, Ron suddenly let himself collapse backwards onto the couch, forgetting his tender ribs. His back flung hand smacked the object, propelling it's contents into Rufus' mouth. The mole rat tried to expel it, but it seemed to melt into his mouth almost instantly. Ron's own pain caused him to miss Rufus's distress. "Ow! Damn Ribs!"

Up on the balcony, Charley was looking at the picture and caption Wade was sending her, of Elizabeth Reithan. She looked at the name. "Oh, I see. I misspelled it in my head, or this would have made sense already." JJ looked seriously confused, "You got the spelling wrong? And that was important?" Charley looked up and nodded, "Very important, this time!"

"We have to get after DNAmy! She has Kim and Shego, and she hates them both!" Ron yelled, "We have to find them." He ignored the frantic efforts of Rufus to get his attention.

"No, Ron, DNAmy doesn't have Kim and Shego, someone much worse does." Charley said quietly, descending the stairs, "She calls herself 'The Rani'."

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Anyway, Another chapter done, please Read and Review.


	6. Revelations and Experimentation

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible, or any of the other characters from that show or from any other media that I may reference in my stories. Charley Cob, **_**et al**_**, are mine.**

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By midnight, things in the house had settled down. Thundagirl had located the Rani's camp, and reported no signs of life. Due to the continuing rain, Charley chose to wait until morning to go investigate it. With no sign of immediate danger, the girls had changed out of their armor into regular clothes. The Reeder twins now slept on the two couches in the living room, while JJ curled up in a recliner. Eliana Chosa had gone to bed in her own room. Ron sat in a chair in Kim's room, staring at the empty bed she had lain in, and trying to deal with how close they had come.

The 'boys' were patrolling outside, just in case. Charley was in Shego's den, studying the comm unit Wade had given her. Wade had anticipated some need for privacy, and set things up so a phone number entered into the device could not be accessed by him, or even not recorded at all. After working out how to make that function work, Charley called a number from memory, and reversed the charges. She crossed her fingers, and was rewarded when a male voice answered, "Whoever you are, you have some nerve, and twenty seconds to peak my interest, before I hang up."

"Is this Jack?"

The reply was a cautious "Maybe, who's this?"

"My name is Charley, and we have a mutual friend."

"Okay, 'Charley', who might this friend be?"

"Well, he generally shows up in tandem with some form of imminent Armageddon. The real thing, that is, not an exaggeration."

"Ah, ha! And he gave you my phone number why?"

"Well, in this case, so I can ask you to tell the appropriate authorities that the Rani is on Earth." There was a sudden crash on the other end of the line, along with a female voice shouting "Jack!" The phone was then muffled, but Charley faintly heard Jack say, "Step outside, please, and close the door behind you. Oh, and tell everyone nothing is wrong." There was an indistinct reply, then a moment's silence before Jack came back on, "Well, so much for being the last Time Lord, that's twice wrong, already! Are you absolutely sure, Charley?"

"I have dead skin cells from a female Time Lord, I can arrange something if you need to see them yourself." More silence. "Are you the appropriate authority yourself, Jack?" That seemed to spark his attention, "What? No, not unless she comes to Wales, anyway. No, this is UNIT's problem, and I'll let them know she's around. Do you know what she's up to?"

"Not yet, but I do know she has kidnapped Kim Possible, and Shego."

"What! Why? Her thing is Genetics and biochemistry, isn't it?" He paused, "For that matter, how much do you know about her?"

"That she escaped Gallifrey in a Trainer TARDIS, just before the end. The Doctor laughed himself silly when he heard about the Trainer. Apparently, it has very limited performance compared to a full TARDIS, and leaves a rather substantial signature when it travels in time, but not space. When she left here, she didn't time travel, and spatially I doubt she left the Earth, she would need two jumps to reach the nearest star system. No, I think she was doing something here, and Kim, and then Shego, stumbled on to it." The lie was inspired by a plan Charley had forming in her mind, to explain the situation to the authorities without telling the whole truth. "Anyway, we'll check her work site in the morning, when it stops raining here. I also have to call Global Justice and explain some things to them."

"No, you can't tell them anything about the Rani, not their jurisdiction. In fact, I'm telling you, on behalf of UNIT, not to discuss this matter with them, do you understand?"

Charley smiled, "Perfectly! I won't tell Global Justice a thing, and will tell them it's because UNIT told me not to."

Jack Harkness' voice became wary. "Uh, right, why do I think you wanted that restriction? Never mind, I have work to do here, But I'll call UNIT right now. But Charley, where are you? I need to tell them where and how to contact you."

"Not necessary, we can handle things here. It's what we do." She broke the connection. "_Rude, but I can't let anyone else in on this. On my head, then."_ She sighed, then cycled through the 'boys' views, though truthfully it was unnecessary, she saw them all, all the time she was linked. She saw Ron sitting alone, as Ben cruised past the window to Kim's room. "_Let him down, getting here too late. If only...what? Doctor Director had let us out sooner? No, nobody to realistically blame, so stop looking for reasons to blame yourself!" _She got up and headed out into the living room.

Moving quietly so as not wake the Reeders, she knew for certain JJ was aware of her, just by a slight tensing in the girl. But the redhead kept her eyes shut, so Charley went on past and up the stairs, to Kim's room. It took Ron a minute to become aware of her. "We came so close, Charley, I can't believe we came so close and missed her." These words had been cycling silently through Ron's mind for a while. "If Wade could have found out about Doctor Chosa sooner..."

"Please don't start, Ron. You could probably go far enough back and find a way to blame yourself, if you tried hard enough." She walked over and knelt down in front of him. "Look, I know you're worried, but if you want to come to the Rani's camp with us in the morning, you need to sleep now. I won't let you come if you aren't rested." Resentment flared briefly in Ron's eyes, but faded as he nodded, "Okay, I will, but where? Not in this bed, and certainly not in Shego's!"

Charley grinned faintly. "I agree, that might be a bad idea. But, there's a fold-out bed in the Den, you can sleep there." She looked at the vacant bed, "I can sleep here, if you don't object." Ron hesitated, then slowly shook his head, "No, I guess not." "Okay then, lets get you down to your bed, then."

Fifteen minutes later, Charley returned to the room. After looking at the empty bed for several minutes, she walked over to the outside door. It was still raining, but only lightly. Charley opened the door a crack, then sat down on the floor between it and a chest of drawers. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she crossed her arms over them, then lay her head on her arms, closed her eyes, unlinked from the 'boys', and went to sleep almost instantly.

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It was either a very early morning, or a very late night for the people gathered in Doctor Director's office the next morning. The Lady herself seemed wide awake, and more then a little angry as she studied the selection of 'experts' she had called together. Abby Hogan, looking not the slightest bit tired herself, stood on the far side of the group, ready to open the door and usher any out quickly if they said the wrong thing, and set off Betty's temper.

But, Doctor Director's first words of criticism were directed at herself. "I do blame myself for some of this. Letting those girls out, not officially 'confiscating' their gear, if that would have helped, not insisting on measures to keep her 'boys' contained. So, their ability to take off and lose us falls on me, but some of these other matters most certainly _do not!"_ She looked at Bailey, one of her agents, "You did plant tracking devices on the ship, right?"

"Yes, Ma'am! And all five of them are lying in the hangar, right where she left them." Betty winced, it was a bit mortifying to be outsmarted by a sentient ship. Then her intercom buzzed, and she circled behind her desk before answering it, "Yes, Grace?"

"You have two urgent calls that just came in. One from the head of UNIT-UK, and one from the chief of our South American Division." Betty's mood wasn't improved by this news, but she wasn't going to let it show to her callers. "Put them both on separate video lines, Grace." She turned to the others, "You may all go, except Abby." As they filed out, two faces appeared on a pair of her view screens.

One was Joao Manuel da Silva Arcoverde, Head of Global Justice South America, a fortyish, handsome man with a neatly trimmed pencil mustache, wearing a pair of reading glasses. _Must be important if Joe forgot to take his glasses off._

The other man was Brigadier General Steadfast MacLaren, Head of UNIT's United Kingdom branch, and Deputy Commander of UNIT-Europe. He had a rugged face, and a reddish brown brush mustache, with neatly groomed hair to match.

"Gentleman, I have to ask if either of you can hold your news until I have heard the other out?" After a moment, Arcoverde nodded, "What I have to tell you is important, but cannot be acted on for now, so by all means, let the General go first." MacLaren, whose own mouth had been opened to speak, closed it and nodded. "I am afraid I have to ask for this to be just between the two of us, Doctor Director."

She nodded, "Certainly. Joe, get back to you in a moment." Arcoverde nodded, before his screen went blank. Abby slipped quietly out of the room. "Now, General, what can I do for you?"

"Do you know a person who calls herself 'Charley'?" Betty winced inwardly, then replied, "Yes, I do, as a matter of fact, what has she done to draw UNIT's interest? Is she in England?"

"I actually don't know, I was hoping you could tell me, since she has uncovered a serious threat, reported it to a colleague, but neglected to inform us where she found it!"

"Well, I personally have no idea where she is, at the moment. As to the 'threat', can you be more informative?" "_And don't you dare tell me..."_ "I am sorry, Doctor Director, but this is strictly a UNIT matter, I can say no more about it." "_You did!"_ "I really need to get in touch with this person, as soon as possible. She was told not to speak of this matter to anyone, but I only have her word..." the last was at least half a question.

"Her word, so far as I know, is good, Brigadier. But until she contacts me, or re-contacts you, I am afraid there is nothing more to be done." MacLaren's face soured at that, but he gave a brisk nod, "Very Well, please inform me if you hear from her, and Good Day, Doctor Director."

After he disconnected, Doctor Director brought her southern colleague back up, "Well, Joe, what do you have of interest to North America?" "_And if Charley is responsible for this, too..."_

"Actually, this is something of international interest, but I am calling you first, because it may be connected to something that happened in your jurisdiction. It seems someone launched a commando style raid on a private residence in Guyana. A residence that constitutes one of the few properties still legally owned by one Montgomery Fiske the Third."

"Monkeyfist? What are you connecting that with?"

"Well, the attack was preceded by an air strike, from a single aircraft that was not detected by local radars. And, a bunch of Americans who don't look comfortable in civilian clothes just arrived in the country, aboard a very fast private jet. And I happened to recognize the picture of one."

"Arthur Mandley?"

"Correct. He is seeking permission from the local government to examine the scene. My people, of course, already have. And before you ask, no, whoever it is didn't get Fiske, or any of his staff. But, they lost several of their own, all killed with bare hands, while searching the jungle around the place."

Betty Director's already grim features tightened. "Monkeyfist killing? Not a good sign. Any ID on the dead?"

"A few positives, yes. All young men, multiple nationalities, most have some military experience, but not Special Forces. In fact, quite the opposite, they mostly served in logistics and support units." He paused, stroking his chin, "Perhaps, somebody offered them a chance to actually fight? No adult criminal records, for any of them, though some had problems as juveniles."

"Any from my neck of the woods?" He nodded, "Okay, send me the details, and I will get agents on it, right away. Someone is playing hardball with the bad guys, we need to find out who."

After the call was over, Betty sat down at her desk and considered the matter. Summoning Abby back in, Betty told her the gist of the news about Monkeyfist. "So, first Drakken, now Monty, and still using a stolen experimental aircraft the Air Force still doesn't admit exists? Well, Betts, they told you this job would never be boring, but this is getting a bit much, all at once, and I'm assuming UNIT wasn't making a social call?"

"They're looking for Charley, and don't ask me why, they didn't say." Doctor Director suddenly frowned, and started looking around the room. "Abby, are the 'flycatchers' up and running?"

"Far as I know, Betts, want me to double check?"

"Please do, I have the feeling I was being watched during that whole business."

0000000000

About an hour later, with the sun barely up, Charley, Ron, and the other three girls trooped out to the landing pad, where Thundagirl was parked. To work off anxiety waiting, Ron had cooked up some breakfast for them all, but had eaten little himself, a sure sign of his concern. He was also worried about Rufus, who he had found curled up in Shego's swivel chair in the Den, acting unwell. But he hadn't asked Charley to check him out, or even mentioned him, and wasn't sure why, except Charley only knew how to treat humans, as far as he knew. Still, as he followed the girls aboard T-Girl**,** He was about to ask, when a cry from Belle Reeder interrupted him.

"Someone has been in our stuff!" With that, she pulled a rifle out of her pile of gear. Except, it wasn't the energy rifle she was used to, but a shorter one, of a 'bullpup' design, with a magazine well in back of a pistol grip, which protruded at the midpoint of the weapon. "What is this?!"

"And look at this!" Beth held up her equipment belt, but it now had several pouches holding spare magazines for the new weapon on it. Then, she spotted something else, "Oh, Snap! Look at this!" And she held up a small, blue cube. Belle soon found one, too, while JJ and Charley went through their own stuff. JJ pulled out her Blazers, but they hadn't changed. Charley, however, found her own handgun altered. It now had a shallow magazine well in front of the trigger guard. She, too, found one of the blue cubes.

"What are those? And who could swap your guns, Charley?" Ron asked. T-Girl also spoke up, "I swear, Boss, no one came aboard me last night, no one!"

"Don't really have a name for them Ron, though we thought of Data Input Cubes. If we could have come up with an 'E' word, we could have called them DICE. Basically, these will certainly tell us how are new weapons work, and maybe even why they were switched." With that, she closed her eyes, unlinked, and pressed the cube to her forehead. The Reeders both did the same. After five seconds, the cubes flashed, and all three girls removed them, then dropped them to the deck, where they shattered into powder.

"So someone thought the weapons we had were too dangerous for this time period, and changed them?" Belle said.

"But how could they have been swapped!" Her sister exclaimed, "I mean, the Ar'Ithane are six hundred years...Oh, right, ancient civilization, probably means they've been around a bit more than six hundred years, right?" Beth trailed off, sheepishly. Only to get excited again almost immediately, "But, how did they know...are they watching us?"

"Or, watching over us?" Charley asked, quietly. "Do they have time travel, or did they somehow detect our arrival here on Earth? And, why did they change my gun?"

"Some of us would like to know what exactly is different about these new guns!" JJ cut in, sharply. "Other then the obvious, that they shoot bullets instead of energy beams."

Belle pulled the magazine from hers. It had a hand grip for easy extraction, but otherwise, was only two inches deep, though it was quite long, nearly seven inches, by two inches wide. "These will hold any bullets that can fit into them. Normal bullets, any type manufactured here on earth. How many it holds depends on the size of the round. For instance, I can put 25 .50 Caliber rounds in one magazine, extra-dimensionally, of course."

"Yeah," said JJ, "But from what I was told by the GJ Armorer about fifty-caliber rounds, good luck trying to fire them out of that little thing, and..." she broke off as grins broke out on both twins' faces, "No..Way! They dampen the recoil?" The grins grew wider, still, "Eliminates it!?" Too regretful shakes of the head in response. "But cuts it down enough to make it manageable?" Two nods in response. "OH, Man, that is sooooo Sweeeet!"

"But it eliminates the ability to make non-lethal attacks." Charley interjected. She looked at her own pistol. "Mine is the same, any pistol round in existence will fire through it." "_They don't trust me to use lethal force in my own defense. Afraid I might let myself get killed, first. I hope they aren't right..."_

"What is that wider barrel under the main?" Ron asked, "That's where they put the grenade launcher on a military rifle."

Belle answered him,"Focused Kinetic Impact Projector. Yeah, I know, not a great acronym, but I didn't pick it." She put her rifle to her shoulder and swung it around, checking the sights. "Hmmmm, the magnification feature is a lot weaker, maybe 4x, 6x at best. Anyway, the FKIP fires a very short ranged blast of force. It's basically to knock someone back who gets too close, but we might be able to break locks with it, among other things."

"But the bottom line is, these weapons aren't the threat our old ones were, to some people." Beth concluded.

"They're also useless to us, right now, since we don't have any...Oh, Shego had some guns in the house, we can see what kind of ammo we can find there." Charley reasoned. "Better then not having them if we need them." Ron groaned over another delay, but saw the reason in it.

Getting into the locked gun cabinet was no problem for Ben, and the girls found some more .308 Winchester ammunition, which Beth took, and some .300 Magnum, which Belle loaded up with. Charley found some .357 Magnum and .22 Long Rifle, and loaded the Magnum rounds.

Twenty minutes later, they swept over the still steaming jungle, coming in sight of the Rani's camp.

In flight, the girls re-donned their armor, while Ron whistled in the cockpit. The girls had hung curtains around one of the transit capsules in the back for Ron's use on the flight down, and he had been sure not to let them slip open while dressing after the hurried flight. When Charley urged speed, because the boys were already out and picking up disturbing signs from the house, Ron had maybe caught a glimpse or two of something before the girls switched on combat mode, and exited the aircraft. The boy had caught up to them as JJ shot out a glass pane in the garden doors to let Saul in, to 'port Doctor Chosa out.

Now, as they set down about thirty feet from the camp, Charley put a hand on Ron's arm. "Don't enter the camp, let the boys do it, I doubt any booby trap the Rani would have left can scratch them." Ron nodded, and stayed clear as the Reeders moved wide to either flank. Belle soon shouted something from the right. "Charley, check that imprint on the ground by the crates. Think that's where she parked her TARDIS?" The marking in question was where Shego had seen the tall crate the day before.

"Most likely. The open tent has an alarm system, but nothing dangerous anywhere I can see. But, I don't want to leave tracks in the camp, she may be coming back. We still have to find out what she was doing here, I'm pretty sure she wasn't here just to grab Kim and Shego." With that, she sent the boys scattering down all the different paths she could see. "Oh, someone used a molecular acid to destroy two very large bodies here, nothing left at all for DNA analysis, but far too big to be human. Somebody must have killed a couple of the Rani's pets here."

"Shego." Ron stated, no doubt in his mind, "Wish she had gotten the Rani, too." Charley regarded him quietly for a second, before murmuring, "We may all end up wishing that." She then concentrated on what the boys were seeing, partially tuning the others out. At least, until the gossip started.

Seeing Charley was preoccupied, JJ turned to the Reeder sisters, "Oh, I figured out that bit with the pajamas, it's just you two like to share things, right?" When both twins answered with a shrug, she added, "Well, I always wondered if that included boys?" Belle looked shocked, Beth looked pained, Ron looked a little too interested, and so it began.

"Never! I mean, the Aderline girls might have done it, but us...No WAY! Who?...you didn't know? Wow, I thought you paid attention to everything...Come on, who?...Bet you wish it was you, don't you, JJ?...No way, those two were creepy...Picky? Since when?...Oh, right, like you always dated human beings!...Who's side are you on? And what about that guy with the blue hoverbike...But, Gwen Aderline wasn't that bad...Ewww! JJ, she used the cheapest hair dye on the planet...Yep, and not just on her head..."

"Girls! Anyone ever warn you about gossiping like that in front of an impressionable boy with an active imagination?" Charley cut in, hiding her grin.

"Huh? Oh, wow, is he still in there?...I can find out easily enough...You know Belle, most of your dates look like that afterwards...Do Not! I mean, that one guy did get fresh, but a concussion isn't that bad...Guys, I think something is wrong here, I can't get any response...What kind of response are you trying to get?...JJ! Seriously, nobody can zone out this far...Did she say 'active' or 'overactive'...Ewww! He's drooling!...Charley, this isn't normal human behavior is it?"

Charley shook her head, "Gossip overload, the cause of brain death in more sensitive young men...Ron! Found something!"

Ron snapped back into focus. "What! I wasn't...I mean, I don't think I was! Found something? What did you find, something about Kim?" The three girls had literally taken a step back at the suddenness of the return of life. "Wow, he can zone out that far!"

"The Rani has been doing some digging, at the end of all four paths the boys followed. The holes are filled with rain water, having trouble getting Ben to go in the water."

Belle grinned, "Don't blame him, he did get swallowed once, after all!"

Ron frowned, "What happened?"

"Oh, he got back out, of course."

"Do I want to ask how?"

"Depends on what type of humor makes you laugh."

"Interesting, there were objects dug up from all the holes, remaining impressions suggest something cubical, about fifteen inches to a side." Charley activated her comm, "T-Girl, I want an underground scan of the area, look for other dig sites, and any sign of metal cubes, try down as far as one hundred feet."

"You got it, Boss! Scanning now." After a few minutes time, T-Girl reported, "13 holes in all, and three more cubes still down there, depths vary from twenty-two feet to sixty-one."

"Okay, show me where the shallowest one is. Then, we need to get some tools, and start digging." Several groans were heard, "Ron is excluded, because his ribs aren't healed enough, yet." One less groan was heard, this time.

"Don't worry, Ladies, the Ronman will be glad to supervise, and do whatever it takes to keep morale up in the workforce." More groans, before Charley replied, "Thanks anyway, Ron, but due to our shortage of wardrobe, and not intending to get our good stuff dirty, we will probably have to forgo your company on this occasion." Ron blinked several times, as his imagination tried to take wing again, but managed to stammer, "Oh, too bad, heh."

"Okay, back to the house, and see if what we need is there. If not, let's head for the village. Without T-Girl**, **I think, she might scare the locals. On the other hand, so might the boys."

0000000000

Upon regaining consciousness, from long practice Shego resisted opening her eyes until she had time to think. Recalling her last memories turned out to be easier then usual, so she hadn't gotten drunk, at least. Then she processed the memories and had to fight the tensing in her muscles, to avoid revealing her conscious state. She then began to summarize what she could tell without sight.

First, she was lying on stone, or concrete. The air was cool, making it easy to tell what she was, and what she wasn't, wearing. Her feet were bare, and so was her right shoulder. Her waistband was loose, so her belt was probably gone. And she could feel the floor through her thin shirt, so her vest had been taken, as well. And there was something wrong with her hair...No!

Forgetting pretense, she sat bolt upright, with only a few slight twinges of protest from her muscles. She felt around the back of her head, and her eyes widened. "That Bitch! She cut my braid off!"

"That's what you get for booby trapping your hair, Shego." Came a familiar, quavering, voice. Shego spun, and saw Kim sitting a few feet away. Her eyes widened in shock. The girl was naked, huddled against the wall, and visibly shaking from the cold of the floor. Seeing her nude also reinforced Shego's estimate of how badly ravaged she had been by her treatment. Ribs easily visible, hipbones protruding, she looked nearly skeletal.

Quickly standing up, Shego began unbuttoning her ruined blouse, "My God, Princess! What did she do to you! Here, get this around you!" She practically forced Kim's arms through the sleeves, and wrapped the inadequate material around her. The girl remained silent, save a hiss of pain once or twice, a sure sign she was in a bad way. "Kim, are you hurt? What happened to Eliana, do you know? Did you get a call off to Nerdlinger?" She pulled the girl close to her, trying to share body heat, as she spoke.

"'No' to all three. She surprised me, Shego! That thing..." Shego looked where the girl's eyes glared and saw the tentacled Spider on the wall opposite their cell, watching them, "It stung me, it hurt so bad..." She stopped, and took a deep, ragged breath, "she took off my clothes, she wanted to see...I didn't answer her, she..." And she stopped, and laid her head on Shego's shoulder, and just kept it there, tears running down her face. Shego was worried, she hoped to God Kim hadn't reached the end of her rope. "_I am a goddamn Jinx to her lately, even when I try to help her, it leads to more misery!" _She glared at the creature on the wall, and studied her surrounding in more detail.

Whereas the floor was concrete, the walls were dressed stone, large blocks of indeterminate age, well weathered. They were in a cell, about ten feet by fifteen, with no windows, just the one opening. A metal framework encompassed it, and almost certainly had some kind of force field, since no physical barrier could be seen. To test that belief, Shego flared her plasma, or tried to, at least. It barely glimmered around her hands, and she suddenly began to feel a tightening in her head, then pain, which increased in intensity quickly. She cut off her plasma, and the pain diminished. "What the Hell?!" She rubbed her temple with her free hand.

"I know who gave you those powers, and I also know how to negate them. Thank You for trying, I can adjust the frequency of the suppression field properly, now." Reithan was standing at the entrance of the cell. "I promise you, that if you repeat that, you will get nothing but an instant, splitting headache." Shego felt Kim move against her, as the girl began to force herself upright, using the wall for support. Knowing better than to help her, Shego waited until she was standing, then stood herself. Kim then began to walk unsteadily forward, eyes fixed on the woman gazing smugly at her. Then, something made that smug look slip, and their nemesis actually took a half step back, before catching herself.

Managing to force a cool expression onto her face, Reithan studied the teenager standing just beyond the force field. Then she shifted her gaze to Shego, and managed not to flinch at the look in _those_ eyes.

After all, she had seen things far more terrifying in her travels. At least, that is what she kept telling herself. "Well, well, what to do with you two? I might have a day or two free, thanks to having to act against you. If Doctor Chosa is dead, I don't suppose the locals will take more than a day on the investigation, if that." She really had to exert her will not to sweat due to the glares from the four emerald eyes boring into her. "I have one project I have wanted to do for some time, and perhaps you would be good subjects, I..."

"You can go Straight to Hell, Bitch!" Shego spat out. "We are not Lab Rats!"

Outrage drove the fear from the woman's face. "You have No idea who you are insulting..."

"Yeah, Yeah, another crazy Time Lord, Been there, done that." It took all of Shego's self-control not to gape at Kim's words. Reithan's expression of shock, however, was absolutely beautiful. "Careful, there, Doc, I think your spider-thing there could fit in your mouth right now. And I really wish he'd try!" Kim sputtered with laughter at Shego's jibe, but suddenly found it difficult to stop the shaking the laughing started. Shego instinctively put an arm around the girl, steadying her.

Their foe's face went through so many emotions it was impossible to keep track, but settling on exasperation. "Can I go ANYWHERE in the universe, and NOT meet someone who has met the DOCTOR!!" She turned an impressive glare on them, and then tried to regain her composure with a visible effort. "_Is he here!?"_ she hissed.

Shego chose not to bluff, when the subject was so obviously touchy to a madwoman. "So far as I know, no. Only met him for one short trip, anyways. Some guy named 'The Monk' was involved, that's who Kimmie is talking about."

"By the way, do you know what a Geronian Trodex is?" Kim asked, conversationally.

Reithan's eyes narrowed, suspicious of the tone. "The Monk was a stupid meddler, never a match for the Doctor. A Geronian Trodex is a small creature, similar to an Earth simian in appearance. The Doctor was fixated on them when he was young. In fact, He made his first Space-Time probe at the Academy in the shape of one. Ridiculous, childish, conceit! Lost control of it, too, he got it back, but the teacher wasn't fooled. Found a note from his future self in it. He...why did you ask?"

Kim looked at Shego, "I Knew Ron got his inspiration for that 'Sitch in Time' story of his from our ride in the TARDIS. Overheard him talking to the Doctor about some little statue he had aboard." Shego nodded, then turned to Reithan, "And I suppose yours was shaped like a member of a cold-blooded species? By the way, whatever happened to DNAmy?"

Reithan's face took a grim line. "She, and her surviving creatures, are locked away, in case I need them for raw material. Just as I intend to use you two. I have made my decision, this opportunity is too good to pass up." She reached into her coat, and pulled an odd pendant out, which she then hung around her neck. Taking a small PDA-like object from a pocket, she tapped a series of commands, then placed it back in her pocket and waited.

"By the way, what exactly do you call yourself?" Shego asked, "Obviously, Elizabeth Reithan was just a cover you created."

Reithan smirked, "Obviously! I am known as The Rani, and I am a scientist, not some power hunger egomaniac like The Master, or a simple meddler, like The Monk. I don't believe any sacrifice is too great for science, and I hope to prove that to you shortly...Ah, about time." Kim shrank back as two huge creatures like those Shego had fought walked up to stand flanking the Rani. One handed a weapon of some kind to the woman, a two-handed affair that she then pointed at Shego. "Now, Shego, step all the way to the back of the cell, or I will cause you an immense amount of pain." Shego didn't budge, until Kim squeezed her arm. Getting the message, she backed all the way to the rear of the cell.

The Rani then deactivated the force field. Shego tried to call her plasma, and screamed aloud at the pain that ripped through her head. She fell to the cell floor and Kim tried to spin towards her, but lost her balance and fell against the cell wall. One of the creatures reached in and grabbed her, pulling her feebly struggling body against it's chest in a bear hug, with her back to him. The Rani reactivated the force field, and then looked at the girl. She frowned as she spotted part of the infected area of skin through a gap in the shirtfront. "Haven't time to do it the gentle way." She smiled, suddenly, "Ah well, As I said, no sacrifice too big." She gestured, and the two creatures followed her out, one having no difficulty controlling Kim in her weakened state.

As the pain subsided, Shego forced herself to her feet again. She approached the force field and tentatively tested it. Oddly, it caused no pain, but neither did it yield. She glared up at the still watching spider, then sank to a sitting position. Outside, all she could see was that the wall opposite the cell ran about fifteen feet to the right, where there was an opening, presumably where the Rani had taken Kim, but without a better view, she couldn't be certain.

After about ten minutes, Shego's head snapped up. Echoing faintly from somewhere in this place, she could hear screaming. Kim's screaming! She shot to her feet and bashed herself futilely against the forcefield, cursing the Rani at the top of her voice. Until the screaming stopped, and her voice caught in her throat from dread.

0000000000

By late afternoon, the four girls had managed to get fairly well along in their digging. In addition to getting some tools in the village, they had purchased some old, worn clothes to wear while excavating.

Worn enough, that by the time they approached their goal, enough rips and ripped seams existed to make the decision to leave Ron at the house a wise one. JJ's top had gone so far to pieces that she made a bandeau out of the remains, and Beth Reeder's shorts looked like something the pre-code Jane of the Tarzan movies might have worn. The boys buzzed about, except Saul, who was watching the Rani's camp. T-Girl was lying low, avoiding the eyes aboard a helicopter that was buzzing in the distance.

"Okay, hold it! Don't want to hit this thing with steel." Charley was wearing her bracer, a coat of sweat, and little else. Fred was scanning for her, and she kept an eye on the readouts she was getting.

"We have about 8 inches to go, let's do it by hand." There was only room for two of them, so JJ and Belle started in. "And no sign of anything at all dangerous, Charley?" Beth asked.

"Well, nothing outside the cube. No radiation, for instance. Need to get it out to get an analysis of it's contents." She took a drink from one of the bottled waters they had gotten from the house. "Hope we don't have to dig up the other two ourselves, though." She got three 'why did you have to say that' looks for that comment.

When the object of their search was at last uncovered, it appeared to be a simple container in design, made of an odd, reddish metal, with a hinged lid. There was a blank plate where the lock should be. Charley and Beth took it as it was passed to them, and carried it to the lip of their excavation. Fred flew close and began scanning, while Charley watched the readouts. A frown appeared, then deepened as the seconds went by. "I haven't a clue..." Charley suddenly jerked, as if from an electric shock. Her eyes closed, and she began to sway slightly.

Concerned looks appeared on her three companions' faces. "Oh, no, she's hooked up again." JJ took hold of Charley, and with Beth eased her down to a prone position. Belle unlatched her bracer and lifted it off, while JJ pulled her belt off. Everything else metal she was wearing or had in the one intact pocket of her ragged pants was removed, and then, because of the metal zipper, the pants as well. The girl began to perspire heavily. JJ suddenly snatched her hand away with a curse, as a small arc of energy jumped from Charley to her bracelet. The Reeder twins finished dragging any of the tools lying close to the girl away, and stood watching. Fred also made himself scarce, moving a good forty yards away, where Ben and Roy soon joined him.

Rubbing her still smarting wrist, JJ moved back near the Reeders. "Well, this time we're lucky. Last time, in that cargo ship..." She watched her friend start to shudder, the hair on the right side of head starting to stand on end. "Wonder why it is never all her hair?" Both twins shrugged, hugging themselves as they watched.

After several minutes, Charley settled down. Beth went and got two bottled waters, while the others went to Charley's side. JJ lifted her head up, and Belle supported her upper body, bringing her up to a half-sitting position. The girl's body temperature was up, and Beth opened the first bottle and doused her with it, pouring it over her head and torso. Charley's eyes opened, fluttered, and closed again. Beth knelt and put the second bottle to her lips, and was rewarded when Charley swallowed a little. She patted the girl's cheeks. "Come on Charley, come on back to us." The eyes fluttered again, but couldn't stay open. "Man, I wonder if distance actually makes it hit her harder." Balancing Charley's head on her knees, JJ pulled off her bandeau and held it out for Beth to soak, then began mopping Charley's forehead and face with it. "Why do all the worst things happen to her? In all our traveling together, it's always her."

"Well, this had to happen to her, she was the only one linked to Mister Curious over there." Beth gestured towards Roy. "He established this link, she pays for it."

"Not his fault..." Charley muttered, "And it has helped us too often to criticize him for it." She opened her eyes, but they still refused to steady. "We need to go back to the house, and take that stuff with us. Don't try..." she started to fade, then rallied, "Don't try to open it."

"But what is it, Charley?"

"It's called Tempusite." And then she passed out again.

0000000000

After nearly an hour, the Rani reappeared outside the cell. Shego stood and glared at her. The woman had changed into typical scientist garb, including the traditional long white coat, but now she had earphones, or sound protectors, Shego couldn't tell, hanging around her neck. Seeing her curiosity, the Rani smirked, "Hate all that screaming, right in my face." Shego's expression darkened, but this time, the Rani was unfazed. "Now, you know I have Miss Possible, so don't get any ideas. I could only give my creations the most primitive of commands. And the only one you need to know, if you raise a hand against me, Miss Possible gets her head ripped off. Literally! Do you understand? And I warn you, I tolerate no hesitation, or insolence. Not one word of it!"

Shego nodded quickly, realizing this woman meant every word. She wondered how Kim had known she was a Time Lord. Then she had a horrible thought. What if they were inside the Rani's TARDIS, and in flight? Just because the place looked like it was underground...

"Good! Now, I am going to give you a choice. You can remove your clothing here, and when I am done, you will be brought back here, and can wear it again. Or, I can cut it off you later, and when I am done, you can sit in here naked and shivering." Shego hesitated, then removed her bush pants, sports bra, and briefs. "Well, you have some good sense, it seems. Now, no tricks on the way to our destination, or else!" The Rani deactivated the force field. Shego had no problem resisting the urge to attack her. "_Mad as hell, but it's easier to control now. Have to play this smart, for Kimmie's sake. Not letting her down again. Or myself." _The Rani made a 'follow me' gesture, then turned and walked away.

Outside the cell, Shego saw that there were two more to the right of the one she had occupied. They were empty, she saw, as they walked to the opening, which was about ten feet high by ten feet wide. This led to a twenty foot corridor, with the ceiling ascending to twenty feet as they emerged into a larger passage, running at right angles. This one was at least forty foot across, with ceilings thirty feet up. It sloped up to the left, and downwards to the right, in both cases vanishing into unlit gloom. There were openings to her right and left, and three portals in the opposite side matching the three on hers. Lights directly above each door represented the only illumination in the passage.

The Rani led the way across the main hall and to the left, rather then the door directly opposite. Entering that portal, Shego saw that it was identical in dimensions to the one to the cells, twenty foot long, with ceiling at twenty feet at the opening, sloping down to ten feet at the inner doorway.

Entering the room, the first thing Shego saw was a huge, squat machine, or possibly a tank. It stood twelve feet tall, and had two circular openings in it's front. Extending from these were two sets of rails, ending in two circular hatches, obviously meant to slide into the machine and seal it. On each rail was a steel table, and shackled to one of them was Kim Possible. Five of the Rani's big monsters occupied the room, as well as two of her Spiders.

Ignoring them, she hurried over to Kim. The teenager seemed semi-conscious, twitching uncontrollably. Some kind of blue substance covered the infected area of her chest. Then Shego looked more closely. The blue stuff looked like a coat of paint, more then anything else, and it seemed to be slightly _below_ the level of the surrounding skin. She spun and stared at the Rani. She was holding that odd Red and Silver pistol again, pointing it at Shego. She looked towards Kim, and shrugged, "I didn't have time to find a cure for her, and I couldn't have that disease getting into the mix, so I excised all the infected tissue. On the positive side, in the unlikely event the poor girl survives this, she won't have to worry about that problem, anymore." She gestured to the other table. "Get on there, or be put on there, your choice."

Shego literally vibrated with rage, staring at the woman, and the ear protection she wore. "_Didn't use any anesthetic when you 'excised' that tissue, did you, you...Too many here, to fight without plasma. Have to, wait..._" What did you mean, when you said you knew 'who' gave me these powers?"

The Rani frowned, torn between her demand for obedience, and her ego. "Oh, a ridiculous race, trying to follow the example of others, and create 'heroes' to aid other races. Except, they eventually would try and get something in return for their 'aid', not by demanding, but by trying to instill a sense of obligation, in the subject race. And, they would keep right on trying to get as much as possible."

"And if they didn't get anything, or not enough?" Shego was intrigued, despite herself.

"Oh, absolutely nothing! They are not only not a warlike species, they are cowards! Shout 'Boo' at them, and they will go away. Or, try and deal with them, remembering that they are masters at coming out ahead in any deal." She paused, "Enough of that, get on that table."

Shego kept scheming, even as she obeyed, but she couldn't see an opening. One of the spider things was close enough to leap on Kim, and three of the big monsters could probably reach her as quickly as she could. So, she climbed up on the smooth, surprisingly warm, table. Seeing none of the shackles like those currently restraining Kim didn't reassure her, she knew what that meant. And sure enough,

as soon as she was prone on her back, metal bands formed around her wrists and ankles. The ones around her ankles then shifted, moving her feet about a foot and a half apart. Then everything went numb.

She found herself unable to move at all, or feel anything. Her view was limited to the ceiling. She could blink, but she couldn't move her eyes. Time passed, and the Rani went in and out of her view, mostly around her lower body, but also working around both arms, and placing something on her chest she couldn't make out. She kept going towards Kim's location and back. Her expression never varied, totally absorbed in whatever work she was doing. "_I can't feel a thing, what is this bitch doing to me!! I should have fought, the old me...I'm not sure what she would have done!"_

At last the Rani seemed done. "All right, ladies, you are about to be placed in this chamber. It will fill with liquid. You _can_ breath this liquid, so don't panic. It will take your bodies a while to realize this, so it is up to your minds to stay in control. You can die, from panic, but I only need one of you to survive this, anyway, and one of you must surely possess the will to do so."

After a moment, the table began to move. As her head passed through the opening, Shego saw her face reflected in the steel rim, but still couldn't see any sign of what the Rani had done. And then she was all the way in, and in darkness. And then she could feel again. She twisted her head, but the chamber was pitch black, no way to see if Kim was separated from her by a barrier, or not. The air was cool, but began to warm. Then, she felt the liquid moving up her body. She had never tried a liquid breathing mixture, though she had heard of them. So she knew that, unless the Rani lied, and she had no reason to, she could survive.

But, she still felt the panic building on the fringes of her consciousness, as the liquid rose past her ears, and then onto her lips, and began to pour down her nostrils. "_Ah, Hell, get this over with!"_ She opened her mouth wide and let the fluid pour down her throat. It tasted odd, but not unpleasant. And then it was filling her, driving the air out of her body as it did. And her panic subsided, quicker then she expected. It was weird, but she was dealing with it, she could only hope Kim was, too.

After several minutes, by her estimate, some faint, colored lights above her. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she twisted her head again, and this time made out the faint form of Kim to her left, and it appeared the girl was looking back at her. She tried wiggling her fingers, and thought she saw Kim's move.

And then the world went psychedelic.

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JJ Ko and the Reeders, showered and dressed in their regular clothes, sat around the living room of Shego's house with Ron. Forty minutes had passed since JJ and Doctor Chosa had put Charley to bed

in Kim's room, after a quick sponge bath. The girls had been mostly silent since, and Ron, worried about Rufus, hadn't felt talkative either. But, his curiosity wouldn't let him stay silent. "So, I have to ask, what's wrong with Charley?"

"Information Overload, basically." JJ answered, "When we first met the Doctor, it was one quick little adventure, then we parted company. But, shortly thereafter, on another world, we came across word of something of great interest to him. We tried to contact him, but, how could we?" JJ shook her head, "So, Charley decided to go to this place, a planet named Carrados."

"The Doctor's people, the Time Lords, had an immense database of knowledge, that they called The Matrix." Seeing Ron's look, "Yeah, I know, but what can I say? Anyway, the Keepers of the Matrix were devoted to it, and wanted it to survive, no matter what. Most of their fellows would never believe that their world, Gallifrey, could ever be conquered, or destroyed. But the Keepers didn't take a chance, they created a back-up copy, of the whole thing, and hid it on Carrados, guarded by contingents of the five most incorruptible races, or organizations, in the known galaxy."

"Anyway, to make a long story short, and cut out all the gratuitous sex and violence..." Ron's eyebrows went up, and both Reeders grinned, "We were granted access to the Matrix, and Charley tried to contact the Doctor through it. She wasn't having much luck, until Roy 'talked' to it, and suddenly, Charley was _linked_ to the damn thing! And still is. It's Gallifreyan Technology, so Time and Space are nothing to it. Anyway, sometimes, not always, when Charley suddenly finds something unknown to her, somehow she links with the Matrix, and it feeds her the information she requires. And it is a major pain, in more ways then one, when it does. There's some kind of energy build-up, but that will dissipate if it doesn't ground through something, and it really puts Charley's body through a ringer. I think this is the seventh time, so far, this has happened, so we know what to do."

"She has no control over it?" Asked Eliana Chosa, who entered from the kitchen. She looked back to see if Inez, back at her regular duties, was listening, but she wasn't close enough, and her English not good enough yet, to understand. JJ shook her head, "None whatsoever. And keeping her ungrounded, which in this case is the best thing to do, can be a pain. I had to hold her off a metal deck once, while the twins got everything metal off both of us, then themselves, so we could pass her around when our arms got tired. Glad no one walked in on that sight, you wouldn't believe how we kept ourselves ungrounded!"

Ben suddenly flew into their midst, and beeped twice. The girls flew out of their seats and headed for the stairs, Ron and Eliana right behind them. Ron held back when he got to the room, while JJ helped arrange the pillows to prop Charley up, and tuck the covers around her, leaving just her bare shoulders showing. Then as the girls settled around and on the bed, he entered, but stood well back. Eliana felt the girl's forehead, checked her pulse, and looked at her eyes, before giving a satisfied nod. "You seem much better, do you feel you need more rest?"

"I will, but first I need to tell everyone what I know. Oh, I need my Comm unit, too." Belle pulled open the nightstand drawer to display it sitting within. "Oh, all right. Well! What we found today is called Tempusite, a very rare crystalline element. And very valuable." She paused, considering, "Not on Earth, mind you, at least not yet. Tempusite is the name Humanity put on it, when they finally discovered it's existence, but they were pretty late in that game."

After a drink of water, she continued, "It basically can be used to accelerate the effects of time on living matter, and it has always been rumored to work the other way, rejuvenating the same, making things young again. There was even a rumor that Time Lords had it in their bloodstreams, and it helped with their...Well, their health, lets just say. That rumor wasn't true, though."

"But, is it the 'Fountain of Youth' of the rumors?" Eliana asked. Charley considered her answer carefully, "Yes, but only if it is used in a very specific manner, which I don't know. Otherwise, you destabilize the subject on a cellular level, and nothing good comes of that. And, it doesn't work on all species, I don't know if humans are one that it does."

"It's origins had it only effecting plant life. It saved a civilization from a subsistence level of existence, and made them prosperous once more. You see, they actually altered the seasons on their planet, through war, and like here, neglect of the environment. The surface growing season shrank to a point that the plants with the best food yields couldn't be grown anymore, and these people were Herbivorous, so that was critical. So they had to ruthlessly control their population in order to keep them all fed. Then, one of their scientists was able to overcome considerable obstacles to explore their solar system. And, he found Tempusite. How he discovered it's properties is a long and boring story, but he did learn how to use it to grow the best plants at an accelerated rate, and harvest them, and increase the food supply to levels that could support a much larger population."

"But, something went wrong, right?" Ron asked.

"Well, other races found out about Tempusite, yes. They found it worked on animal life as well. In any event, it became very desirable, even before the rejuvenation rumors started." And though no full scale war was ever fought over it, a lot of 'limited' ones were. It was a finite resource, and no other source has ever been found. By the time humanity discovered it, and tried to horn in, it was nearly exhausted.

But right now, time-wise, it is still abundant. So, I think what we found is a Tempusite smuggler's 'stash', that he hid on this relatively primitive planet. And the Rani found out about it."

"And why do you think she wants it, Charley?" JJ asked.

"For her experiments, they're all she cares about. With Tempusite, she can accelerate them, and still get accurate results. Genetics and Biochemistry, working with living matter, Tempusite is great for her."

Inez called from downstairs, announcing dinner. Charley looked at the others, "Go ahead, I have one thing to do, then I will see if I can get down there myself, I'm famished!" JJ spoke before Doctor Chosa could. "You call us before you try it, if you're still weak, got it, shorty?" Charley nodded contritely. After the others had gone, she got her comm from the nightstand, then slipped into the bathroom and closed the door. She dialed the same number as previously, again reversing the charges.

And got an answer. "Hello, Charley, I usually don't speak to people who hang up on me, but I'll indulge you, for you-know-who's sake. Have you found the Rani yet?"

"No, but I found what she was digging up here in Central America." she paused, rolled her eyes, and continued, "Jack, what would you do if I told you where to find three point three Kilograms of Pure Tempusite?" After a minute, "Jack?...Jack? ...are you still there?"

"I'm seriously considering blocking you, Charley."

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Okay, Chapter called on account of Word count.

I have probably telegraphed the next chapter. Ah, well.

Please Read and Review


	7. Life Changes

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible, or any of the other characters from that series, or any other media I may reference in my story.

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"So, if anyone should ask, I'm the only one here who knows my plan." Charley was wrapping up her call to Jack Harkness. "If the other girls ask me directly, I'll tell them, but you won't know that."

"Assuming I say anything at all. As for that number I gave you? You can only use it once. Ring it, wait for a beep, say 'Avalon', wait for another beep, speak your message, and hang up. No one will speak to you, no matter what you say. When you find the Rani, you should use it. By the way, are you thinking of trading the Tempusite you have for her prisoners?"

"No, but someone else here might think of it. However, she may not consider it worth the risk to herself, she has fourteen kilos of the stuff already, she may take that and settle."

"Yeah. I'm sorry to say, you're probably right. She isn't that ego-driven as to take unnecessary risks with her freedom. And it would be best if you told that to whoever you were referring to. And I'm not happy about the Tempusite being in _anyone's_ hands, but better UNIT than the alternatives." He paused, "Look, Charley, I have to go. I wish you'd reconsider, _you're_ juggling a lot of people who could get real mad at you."

"I know. But I don't know anyone of them who would choose the right priorities here. I may not be giving their point of view the credit it deserves, but I have to put Kim, and Shego, first over any other considerations. So, we _will_ stop the Rani, and we _will_ rescue Kim and Shego, nothing less is worth the effort."

"You sound determined enough. Well, Good Luck, Charley, I hope it works the way you hope." He rang off. Charley stood still for a moment then shivered suddenly. "_Huh! Think standing around naked in a cool bathroom while talking on the phone for twenty minutes was smart? And after getting your mind and body shaken by another link-up with the Matrix? Damn, you need a guardian, rather then trying to be one." _She shook her head, and returned to the bedroom. A set of clothes, the same kind Kim had been wearing since her arrival, were sitting folded neatly on the foot of the bed. Charley hesitated briefly before donning them, but ignored the sandals beside the bed. As she was about to exit the room, however, something occurred to her. Turning her Comm back on, she called Wade Load.

"Wade, I am really thinking too slowly. Reithan ingratiated herself with this DNAmy in order to gain access to her laboratory facilities, or at least a secluded hiding place. Any idea where that could be?"

"Already thought of that, Charley. But except for a house here in Middleton, and a time-share lair in Minnesota, I have nothing on DNAmy's properties."

"Amy has a house in Middleton? Did Kim ever check it out occasionally for activity?"

"Sure, she went past it once in a while, see if Amy had slipped in, for some reason. She did that sometimes, for no reason, and despite being wanted."

Charley thought about that for a minute. "So, on the day Kim disappeared, we might be able to say she went by that house, and saw something that got her kidnapped."

"You aren't going to tell the truth? I Mean, Kim's Mom knows about the treatment she was getting, or at least the basics, so why lie?"

"Because Eliana Chosa gave Kim an unapproved drug, to try and save her life, and she could be in big legal trouble if that gets out." Wade winced. "Ouch! I didn't even think of her! You're right, Kim would never forgive us if we let anything happen to her. I'll try and locate DNAmy's current lair, and see if I can come up with something to support that story." He then signed off, and Charley headed downstairs. She had missed dinner, after all. Everyone had moved into the living room as she descended.

"Really? You could have had your ears pointed? That sounds pretty cool!" Ron was asking JJ.

"Nah! I mean, it was a brief fad, a dozen girls had it done in school. I wasn't interested in just copying someone else. And, my family couldn't really afford it, anyway." She ran her fingers along the blue streak in her hair, "This was a free prize for winning a contest one year, I chose how to use it, but I wouldn't have spent money on this."

"Wait, you've had that since school? It's permanent?"

"Oh, yes! This streak.." again running her fingers along it, "and one..." She saw Charley giving her a warning look, "Well, I thought about getting it in my eyebrow, too, but didn't. And yes, it will always grow blue." She looked at Charley, "You feeling better?" The girl nodded, as she settled into an empty seat. JJ looked her over, "Whose clothes are those?"

"They are some of the ones Ana brought for Kim." Eliana answered, "She obviously couldn't pack for her 'disappearance', so Ana provided some. Just for undergoing treatment, so something simple was all that was required."

"We didn't get to pack for the trip, either. Just took all our stuff and dumped it on Kim's parents, more or less, and Ron drove us out to where T-Girl could pick us up. Are there any more I could use? These need washing."

"Yes, of course, there are enough for all of you."

"We are going to have to do more digging tomorrow, girls. I want to get another one of those Tempusite-filled cubes up." Groans answered that announcement. "So, we have to get our old clothes on again tomorrow."

"What clothes? They're rags now, and will be worse by the time we are done." JJ replied, "Besides, there is an alternative." At Charley's curious look, she explained, "I found a bunch of material, leather, hide, some leather thongs, all the stuff we need to make some clothes to work in, that will hold together a lot better. I mean, loincloths, bandeau, halters for those who need them.." looking at the Reeders, "And at least we have decent boots."

Belle grinned, "Going primitive again? Sure, why not!" Beth rolled her eyes at that. "Why don't we hop back up to Middleton, and get our own stuff?"

Charley shook her head, "When we go back to Middleton, we'll have to talk to Doctor Director."

"Why, we can be in and out again...Oh, you mean we _have_ to talk to her, not just if she catches us?"

"We owe her at least that, for all she did for us." Charley sighed, "I'm not looking forward to it, but we do need to tell her something." She looked at JJ, "And your suggestion is fine, too."

"How deep are we going this time, Charley?" Beth asked.

"Thirty-three feet, which will leave the sixty-one foot one for the Rani, if she wants to go after it."

"If the Tempusite is all she wants, maybe we can make a trade?" Belle asked, "I mean, she's not a world conqueror, so she probably isn't a major threat to humanity."

"No, I don't think what we have is enough for her to bother with, with all she already dug up. And, considering the limitations of her TARDIS, she took a very long trip to get here, I am not entirely ready to dismiss the possibility she came here for more. We need to find where she's hiding out, and rescue Kim and Shego. Wade is trying to locate DNAmy's current hideout, because I think the Rani's there, but we have to come up with a plan in case he can't find it. Assuming, of course, the Rani does come back for the three remaining containers."

"Another thing, Charley." JJ spoke up, "You three need to get some practice with those new guns of yours." Charley grimaced, but nodded, "Yep, you're right, and we may need more ammo if the Rani has been really busy monster-making. Anybody have their comm with them?" Beth handed hers over, and Charley contacted Wade again.

"Wade, we had a change made in our armament, and need somewhere private we can practice shooting. A firing range, that is. Then, we need to get some ammunition, but that is _not_ your problem, understand?" Wade nodded slowly, then grinned, "I may be able to solve your range problem, Charley, and the owners might help out with your ammo, too. When would you want it?"

"The day after tomorrow would be good, have some plans to make, first."

"Okay, I will see what I can do. Anything else?"

"No thanks, Wade. Get some rest, though, you look a little tired." Charley tossed Beth her comm back, and noticed a smirk on JJ's face."What?"

"I think the contemporary expression is, 'The Pot calling the Kettle black.' I think you need to get back to bed, Charley."

"After she eats something first." Doctor Chosa added, a stern look on her face, "And why are you running around barefoot, young lady?" Charley wilted slightly, but could only give a faint shrug. "Ah, you are as bad as Ana was! Thought she was immune to all the simple weaknesses because of her 'comet' powers. She discovered that was not so!" Eliana smiled, "However, she doesn't like her embarrassing moments discussed in her absence, so, let us just get you taken care of, now." "_And continue to pray that I will see Ana again..."_

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The world was a kaleidescope of bright colors, swirling in front of Shego's eyes. They changed their speed, shifted from faint mist to solid bands and back again, and swept through the whole color spectrum and back constantly. Memories swelled up in her head, memories going all the way back to childhood. They all had something in common, but it took her some time before her bedazzled brain realized it. "_Learning things, all these memories are of me learning something, or being taught a skill of some kind."_ She saw Mrs Walling teaching her how to care for the Wegos, her Martial Arts training, flying lessons, sexual encounters where she learned something 'new'. "_OK, some of that is personal, what's the point of this?"_

Then, the Tree house, the five of them. First kids to get a chance to sit in it, because Henry had done most of the work on it. Shego holding on to the twins, who liked to get too close to the hatch, Henry sitting in the middle of it, looking proud, and Warren, or Mego, peering out the window. Then claiming something weird was zigzagging through the sky, some kind of bright light. Henry went to look, too, and there was no more room at the window. Shego accusing them of making it up, scaring the twins. Then both boys suddenly recoiling from the window, and everything going bright...

"_**What do you Want to be, What do you Need to be?"**_

"_It...spoke to me!?"_

"_**What do you Want to be, What do you Need to be?"**_

"_No! It __is_ _speaking_ _to me!!" _Shego tried to steady her racing mind, but something was still forcing her to recall certain memories. "_Conscious mind not under my control, has to be something...Ah! My karaoke defense!"_ Not that Shego had developed the technique solely to survive certain 'experiences' with Doctor Drakken, she had been taught it elsewhere. Dividing her consciousness, letting one part record events around her, so that she could remember them if she _really _needed to, while clearing one part so she could think without distraction.

"_What do I want? I want to save Kim, and me."_

"_**That intention must be reciprocal, does 'Kim' want to save you?"**_

"_Huh? I don't..." _

"_Yes" _

"_What? Kim? Was that you?"_

"_**What do you need to be? 'Scary', as before?"**_

"_What? No, I can be as scary as I choose to be, I don't need any help there. I need my plasma to be faster, I need it to be more precise, It's too blunt, it can be suppressed." _

"_**Only because you reject it, even as you use it. You resent it, even as you revel in it. **_"_Resent it? Reject it? I...think I see..." __**We have time, now, to make the power wholly yours, if that is your Need."**_

"_Time? I...Yes, that is what I 'Need'." _

"_**Your Wants, and your Needs, are noted. We can proceed, at the proper pace."**_

And Shego felt an odd tingling in her body, where before all sensation had been muted. The conversation, or what her brain had interpreted as one, was apparently over. "_I went through this before, I wonder if I made it better this time, or worse? As long as I didn't ask it to re-wire my brain again. How can it still be asking, though? Is it alive, and in me? Were there two voices there, or just one? Am I being watched by someone or something? Or, am I having an acid trip? Gah, that would take the cake! Not coming up with any answers, might as well just watch the pretty colors 'til this ride is over." _So, she did.

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Ron watched the four girls heading out through the pool area, carrying their tools, and their weapons, and dressed in their improvised wardrobe, covered by the old clothes from the day before. Ron hadn't seen what they had come up with in the way of 'primitive' fashion, having nodded off while they were collecting their materials. Exactly why Shego had the stuff around, no one had told him. "_Into leather working? Or leather? Wonder if she makes any of her own outfits?" _He actually did feel guilty about them doing all the work, but though his ribs barely ached at the moment, he knew how fast that would change if he started using a pick or shovel.

He decided to make up for it by helping Inez make them lunch, which Eliana Chosa had told them she would deliver to the girls in the jeep around noon. Their decision to hike to the site of their dig was based on a desire to keep T-Girl on the ground as much as possible, lowering the chance that the Rani might spot her when she returned. It was just over a mile and a half, in any case. They left early to avoid being seen by men from the village who would be coming to do some work in the gardens, and other chores for Eliana.

One thing that had delighted Ron was that Shego had satellite TV, though he couldn't find any clue as to what provider she used. Or, if she used a legitimate one, at all. Oddly, though, the Parental Lock was on. Not that Ron had any intentions of watching any of _those_ programs, of course.

Rufus was a concern, though, he still seemed out of sorts and lethargic. And Ron still hadn't asked Charley to check him out. He had considered asking for permission to take Rufus aboard T-Girl back to Middleton to his own vet, but that seemed to him an overreaction. Still, he had to do something for his little buddy. "_I hate being left out. This is Kim, I need to be more involved. So, why am I not doing something for Rufus? Because I am afraid if I go to Middleton, I will miss something? Or, if I ask Charley to look at Rufus, she may say I have to take him home? Ah, Man! I can't let Kim down, but I have to take care of Rufus, I guess I had better ask Charley when she comes back."_

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By noon, the girls had managed to dig a ten foot vertical shaft to bedrock, and were beginning a down sloping tunnel beneath a second protrusion of rock. That had to run another 13 feet, then they would have to go vertical again. The Tempusite had apparently been placed with a teleport device that swapped the containers for the dirt they displaced, Inserting them firmly into the ground amidst the strata of bedrock. Scans by T-Girl had shown the only route to reach it, and fortunately the girls had some experience with tunneling.

The sound of the jeep approaching caused work to halt, and brought a dirty, sweaty, Charley and JJ out of the hole to join the Reeder twins. Eliana studied the bedraggled foursome as she stopped the jeep. Ron would have probably described their style of dress as 'Hollywood B-Movie Cavegirl', or, with weapons, 'Hollywood Post-Apocalypse Warrior Women'. She saw a pile of already emptied bottled waters near where she parked. She was glad she had brought up a fresh supply, though one reason for that was the nature of the lunch she was delivering.

"So, how is it going, so far?" she greeted them. A groan or two came in response, before Charley said, "Well, we are a third of the way there, vertically, but only a quarter of the way, total." She shrugged, "But, we will get it done today, one way or the other."

"Can you not use one of the little skulls to get it out? Then you would not need a tunnel big enough for a human." Charley shook her head, "Well, if we could drill a hole big enough straight to the cache, sure, but we can't, not without some kind of remote-control digging machine. We are having to zig-zag quite a bit. The boys can teleport items only if they are close to them, we need to at least tunnel close enough ourselves to get them within range. Besides, the tools we have aren't designed to make small tunnels, should have thought of that, before." Doctor Chose studied Charley as she spoke, and got an uneasy feeling about her. Nothing her exertions couldn't account for, but Eliana had a gut feeling the girl wasn't well. However, she knew better then to argue with such a stubborn personality.

"Ah, well, now you should take a break, and eat this fine lunch Inez and _Senor_ Ron have made for you. Now, the _salbutes _and the _panuchos _were made by Inez, and the _Nacos_ by Ron. I would advise caution with them. You see, he tried to make some hot sauce to go with them, and ended up spilling it into the filling, so I think they may be quite hot." This caused smiles to spread on the Reeder twins' faces.

After unloading the food in it's insulated hamper, and the fresh water supply, Eliana headed back to the house. The girls chose a shady patch of bare earth for their dining area. Shortly after, sweatbands, headbands, one bandeau, and one halter hung over tree branches to dry out, while the four studied what had been brought.

Belle curiously picked up a _Naco, _opened the wrapping around it, and took a sniff. She blinked, with tears coming to her eyes, and looked at her sister. "I think my nose hairs just melted!" A wide smile appeared on Beth's face, and she took up a _Naco_ as well. When both had theirs unwrapped, they looked each other in the eyes, then bit in. After a few seconds, both pairs of eyes widened, and their cheeks flushed. "These are Great!"

Charley looked askance at them, "Are we talking 'melts durasteel on contact' great?" Both twins nodded happily. Charley looked at JJ, then both reached for a _salbute. _As Beth chewed happily, some filling fell out of her meal and splattered on the breast of her halter. Belle snorted, "That's why I took mine off, keep the bugs from swarming more afterwards." Beth raised one eyebrow, and started to question the wisdom of that decision, when the exact same thing happened to Belle. Except, of course, that the dripped filling landed on bare, and sensitive, flesh.

A string of harsh, guttural syllables spat out of Belle's mouth. JJ and Beth literally recoiled from her, eyes wide, and cheeks flaming red. Charley just looked at the girl in mild surprise, "You know, Belle, you may be the first human being to pronounce that phrase correctly." Beth controlled her shock, and added, "Mom would have taken the ultrasonic scrubber to your tonsils if she heard you say that!" JJ reached up and pulled her bandeau off the tree branch, "This should be dry enough by now."

Charley got up and walked over to their equipment. "There ought to be something in the First Aid kit to put on that, Belle, just a moment." JJ shook her head, "If it does that to your skin, how can you put it in your mouth?" Both Reeders looked at her as if she had grown a second head. "They're good!"

After five minutes of silent eating, JJ looked speculatively at Charley. "Okay, I think it is time to ask the big question." Charley looked up, trying not to tense. "_My Plan?"_ "Kim Possible." Charley blinked in surprise. "What about her?"

"Well, why her? Why did you ask the Doctor to bring you someplace where you could live a 'normal' life, and go right back into hero work?"

"We had no choice, we had to help those people in the mountain, and they told us about Kim, so I looked her up on the Internet while we were at Global Justice, and I thought we should help find her. I mean, I would like to think if we got into trouble, someone would make an extra effort to help us!" Charley spoke defensively, in a rush. This was so out of character, that all three girls frowned at her, causing a rise of color in her cheeks. "I mean, I didn't want to stop helping people, after all, I just wanted to stop traveling around, I wanted a place to call home." the last came out wistfully.

"We could have gone back to home." Belle commented. Beth winced, and JJ darted a startled glance at Belle.

"_Your _home." Charley said, quietly. Belle closed her eyes, muttering something under her breath, then started as Charley continued "And I know the Doctor offered to take you all back there, if you wanted." All three looked guilty at that. "Why didn't you?"

"We had no family alive there anymore, or at least no close family, Charley, you know that." JJ responded, "You are more family to us then anyone left there was." The Reeders both nodded agreement, "We followed you halfway across known space, there was no point to stopping now." She paused, "Now, tell us about Kim Possible. We heard all about her as a local hero in Middleton, and we saw some things on the news, but you researched her, and I know you didn't stop with the 'authorized' files at Global J. What did you do, turn Roy loose on them?"

"No!" Charley was startled out of her reverie, face turning faintly pink, "Roy wouldn't have known when to stop! I use Roy when I want someone totally confused about what I was looking for. I used Saul." Seeing she wasn't going to avoid giving some answer, she took a deep breath, and released it slowly. "Do you know, I found six different Psych Evaluations of her, and no two agreed?" Raised eyebrows occurred, "They ranged from one that said she was potentially the 'Greatest Operative Global Justice could have', to one saying she should dissuaded, by _force_ or legal action if necessary, from continuing her hero work, before she triggered a catastrophe with her naive blundering!"

"Naive?" from Beth.

"Yeah, another one mentioned naivety as well, but in an odd context. See, she doesn't do these things from Ego, not the big things. She trips over her ego on little things. She does these things to help people, and because she wants to, not because she thinks she's the only one who can. She believes that if something happened to her, someone else would do the job just as well. That Evaluation says she could be forced to compromise herself, or sacrifice herself, over a threat to a loved one, and 'naively' expect someone else to stop the bad guy. I like that the Global J shrink thinks it's 'naive' of her to expect GJ or other agencies to save the day without her. It concludes that she will never be a 'good little soldier' and accept orders or priorities that involve sacrifice of others, though sacrificing herself is something she would do willingly, if necessary."

There was silence for nearly a minute before Belle spoke. "So, she's a good person, not a good robot, or a good agent?"

Charley smiled slightly, and shrugged, "Yes, that's pretty much it. She doesn't care about rewards, or honors, but is too polite to decline them when it would seem rude. She just set out to help people, and keeps escalating her involvement, from saving cats in trees to saving the world."

JJ frowned slightly, "Has she ever _actually_ 'Saved the World'?"

"If you define 'saving the world' as saving people from enslavement or domination on a global scale, or preventing an event that would have wrecked civilization, the answer is Yes, twice. Once when she was 14, and really didn't appreciate the scale of it until it was over, and once at 16. However, both of these were 'chain of events' things, and some people might point out that she stopped both in the middle of the chain, and therefore it is possible that later events would have broken the chain. In fact, one agency claims that they had the second incident under control all the time, they just needed to make their move later." Charley's tone expressed disbelief of that claim. "As to something more vital, like saving the human race from extinction, she did that, too, and is totally unaware of it."

Beth and JJ's jaws dropped, while Belle's went into overdrive, "Extinction? The whole human race? How could she not know? Why wasn't that on the news when they were discussing her disappearance?"

"Because she never took the guy who could have done it seriously. He seemed like another nut case with a crazy scheme to conquer the world. It wasn't until she stopped him, and dashed home to help set up some school event, that Global Justice found out the guy really had the means to wipe out humanity, and the intent to do so! And, since they, too, didn't take him seriously, they were quite shook up. It badly damaged Global J's standing in the eyes of other agencies, even though some of them were slightly at fault themselves."

She looked around, "We really need to get back to work, guys, We have a long way to dig, still."

JJ held up a hand, "One question, Charley. Was Kim in that book on Earth heroes you say you read once? They were all from this time, weren't they?"

Charley shook her head, "It was a psychological study of three 'heroes' with different ways of operating, not a popular history. It discussed how their enemies, and the public, were effected by their image, and methods of operation. All three were male, though, Kim wasn't mentioned."

"And you had us practice two of those three methods, the use of inspiration of the good people, and causing fear in the bad, before we started our little crusade, why not the third?"

"Because the third method makes the public dependent on us, and puts success or failure on our shoulders alone. They need to have a stake in whatever happened, they had to feel that they _earned _freedom, not that it was given to them." Charley looked at the three of them, "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Belle began, "I got the line you pitched about pronunciation, earlier. First to say it right, because Humans won't contact the Gervenon for another four hundred years, right? Which brings up something that has been in the back of my mind for a while. Watching TV, I've heard slang expressions I _know_ I haven't heard before, but I know exactly what they mean, how is that?" Beth nodded agreement with that, while JJ frowned, mulling it over.

"I think it was the TARDIS. The Doctor says it generates a form of telepathic field for it's crew, that lets them understand any spoken language. I think it may have taught us contemporary English, including slang, while we slept. Why, I'm not sure. Did the Doctor 'ask' it to?" Charley shrugged, "Another question we might never know the answer to. Now, back to work!" She began to clean up the debris from lunch, and the others followed suit, before going back to their digging. As they did, a breeze began to pick up from the west, and dark clouds began to peek over the horizon.

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Ron Stoppable, after consuming three of his own creations for lunch, helped Inez with the clean-up, while practicing his surprisingly decent Spanish on her. Surprising if his former Spanish teacher had heard him. Clean-up complete, he sought out Rufus, curled up again in the swivel chair in the den.

"Hey, buddy. Why don't we get a little sun? You haven't been outside since we got here, some fresh air might make you feel better." Ron picked the lethargic mole rat up and headed out to the pool. Selecting a lounge chair with an adjustable umbrella, he set it up so the two of them could be partially shaded from the sun, then lay out on it, with Rufus on his lap. But he failed to tighten the adjusting knobs on the umbrella. Within ten minutes, Ron had nodded off.

Shortly afterwards, the rising western breeze started shifting the umbrella's position, til the sleeping Rufus was exposed to the sunlight. About ten minutes later, Ron began to shift uncomfortably, and started trying to wake up. Something heavy seemed to have been dropped in his lap...

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Charley Cob lay on her back near the hole, a water-soaked strip of cloth across her forehead. Her skin was flushed, and her eyes unfocused. "I knew it! You haven't gotten over yesterday, have you?"

JJ muttered, while taking her friend's pulse. Roy floated around her, making worried noises. JJ reached under the girl and unknotted her bandeau to loosen it, though she left it in place. Belle called from down in the hole. "Is she okay?"

"Of course not!" JJ winced at her own tone of voice, "Sorry, but no, she isn't. Typical Charley..." She broke off as she saw Charley's eyes focus, and lock onto hers. "Charley? What's up?"

"Thundagirl is headed this way, something must be wrong, but why not call?" Showing a remarkable recovery from what appeared to be heat exhaustion, Charley climbed to her feet and walked quickly, if a bit unsteadily, out into the clearing and looked towards the house. Her unknotted bandeau fluttered to the ground in her wake. JJ blinked, shook her head, and with a slight scowl followed her, picking up the discarded garment on the way. She handed it to Charley, who mechanically replaced it, never taking her eyes off the approaching ship.

Not until she had reached the clearing and dropped to a soft landing did the sentient ship speak. "Boss, you better grab your bracer and one of the boys and get aboard, something kind of...odd has happened at the house."

Charley didn't say a word, just went and began to collect her equipment, so JJ had to ask the obvious, "Odd? How odd are we talking?"

"Definitely 'seeing is believing' odd, JJ." the ship replied.

JJ turned and saw Charley putting on her bracer, and also carrying her weapons belt. "She didn't say you'd need that, Charley."

Charley pointed to the west, "I didn't want you all to haul my stuff back with yours before that hits."

JJ looked where she pointed and groaned. "Ah, No! If that rains on us, it will fill the hole with water in no time! All that hard work..." She shook her head. Charley now had the lunch hamper in hand, as well. JJ eyed her critically, "Look, I don't know how you do these 'recoveries' of yours, but I know full well what will happen soon, so please, Charley, don't overdo it!" Her friend just gave a faint smile before climbing aboard T-Girl, who gave her time to sit on the deck before lifting, as if she suspected Charley was running on fumes, as well.

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_Ron was in paradise, lying on warm...kind of hard, sand, listening to...something creaking, not swaying palms, with a beautiful, bikini-clad supermodel leaning over him..._The he woke up to find a disheveled Charley Cob, not quite filling out her 'cavegirl' outfit as well as his dream-model had her outfit, looking him in the eyes with concern. He was laying on the patio, the lounge chair overturned, the partially collapsed umbrella creaking as a rising wind moved it. Roy was buzzing around him, literally buzzing, for some reason, and then darting out of sight beyond the umbrella's canopy. And then he remembered..."RUFUS! He..I mean, how...I thought I saw...he was HUGE! I mean..."

Charley shushed him. "Huge being three feet tall, you mean. Though he does weigh 112 pounds, definitely a bit denser, heh."

Ron just looked at her. "How can you be so _calm!!_ My little buddy has been turned into a...uhhhh."

"Slightly larger buddy?" Charley grinned and gave an apologetic shrug.

"It's not funny! How did it happen? Did that Rani do it? And how could she?" Ron subconsciously noted that Eliana Chosa was standing to one side, frowning at...Charley, and the girl was swaying slightly, but he ignored those things. "What is he?" He now noticed the sky darkening.

Charley suddenly slumped to a sitting position, and held something out for Ron to see, the two halves of the 'peanut' he had seen their first night here. He peered closely, and saw the threads where they were meant to join. "The Rani must have dropped this here, by accident, and Rufus found it." Charley explained.

"And Rufus ate it?"

"Well, no, according to him, you unintentionally knocked the contents down his throat."

"Ah, Man! Why do I keep doing...Wait, you said 'according to him'? I thought I was the only one who could understand him?" Charley grinned weakly, "Past tense, Ron. Whatever was in that thing didn't do it, but something made Rufus smarter then he should be, and now that he has a more human-like voice box, he's talking in English." Charley frowned, "Very well, in fact, and getting better all the time."

Ron's mouth hung all the way open, as his brain whirled along several paths at once. "Smarter? Oh, what Monkeyfist told Kim...English? He speaks English? How?"

Charley leaned back against the overturned chair, and her eyes fluttered slightly. "I guess because he has heard you speak it, Ron, but I don't know. All I know is, that whatever he ingested began to increase his mass and size rapidly, but I don't know what triggered it." She suddenly shivered, and this time Ron took notice, but before he could speak, she looked up, "Ron, has Rufus been out in the sun before today? I mean, since we got here?"

"What? No, that's why I brought him out this afternoon...You think the sun changed him?"

"No, what the Rani made changed him, the sun was just a catalyst. I mean, he seems to have stopped growing, so...sorry, Ron, I'm drawing a blank, little tired." Ron, to his credit, had begun to worry more about the girl then Rufus, and his own problems. Even thought the wind wasn't cold, she was shivering, and seemed to be having trouble concentrating.

Eliana apparently thought so, too. She stepped over and felt the girl's forehead. "You have a fever, little one. How long?" Charley shrugged,

"Since before lunch?" the doctor asked. Charley hesitated, then nodded. "Ronald, help me get her in the house, and upstairs, please." Whatever protests Charley may have made were squelched by a stern glare.

Only as Ron stood and helped the unsteady girl to her feet, did he see Rufus standing beyond the fallen umbrella, nervously wringing his paws. He looked for all the world like a three foot tall pink bodybuilder. He couldn't meet Ron's gaze, as if he felt guilty for the situation. That finally got through to Ron, who actually managed a faint smile, "Don't worry, little buddy, we'll work things out, I promise."

"I don't think there has been any behavioral modification, he's still Rufus, the changes are all physical, as far as I can tell. They might also be temporary, and that could be...a problem." Charley talked slowly, and carefully, as though her concentration was failing rapidly. "I think, however, the changes to his genetic code...could be permanent, so any children of his...would be very interesting."

At that point, the girl's legs gave out, but Ron was prepared enough to scoop her up, and follow Doctor Chosa up the stairs.

"Inez has gone home to beat the storm, you will have to help me, Ronald." Eliana said, as she led him into Kim's room, "Sit on the bed if you need to, but keep her off the sheets, she is a mess." She then left him to go down the hall, rummage in a closet, and return with a folding plastic seat. She went into the bathroom, signaling Ron to bring Charley. "Put her on that stool, and take off her boots and socks, please." While Ron did as told, she set up the folding seat in the partially enclosed bath tub, angling it across at the faucet end. She then rolled her sleeves up, and began to run the water.

She and Ron then moved the girl to the edge of the tub, and Eliana removed her bandeau. Ron made to turn away. "Don't worry about that, I need help getting her positioned, Ronald!" She removed Charley's loincloth, then stepped into the tub after kicking off her sandals. "Now, help me get her on the seat, and don't worry where you touch her, just don't drop her, understand? Then, you can wait in the other room while I wash her. I need to see if she has any odd bites or other marks, though I don't think that is the case." Ron helped get the girl positioned on the seat such that she could be leaned back into the corner. She seemed to be barely aware of her surroundings, feverish and pale. After Eliana nodded to indicate she had her, Ron went into the bedroom and sat on the bed.

"Is see...Is she, going to be arr...all right?" Ron looked up to see Rufus at the door, with Roy hanging at his shoulder. He tried to give a reassuring grin. "Sure, the doc's going to clean her up, then we'll put her to bed, and let her sleep it off. Deep voice you have there, Rufus, that's a quite a change."

"Yes, I had noticed that fast...err, fact. Curious, when I has...have, such a small voice box. It much...must have something to do with the density of my tissue now. Or something light...like that."

Ron studied him thoughtfully for a minute. "When we were at the Bermuda Triangle, Monkeyfist told Kim that bonding with me might have boosted your intelligence."

Rufus was nodding, "Yes, I recall that conversation kite...quite clearly. And, he was correct, I do believe. I have had little contact with my own kind since you fought...bought, me, but I have seen little sane...sign, Rabbits! Sign that others of my species have similar interest...intellect!" The Mole rat was obviously frustrated by his continuing problems with word selection.

Ron nodded, thoughtfully. A moan amidst the splashing sounds from the bathroom distracted him. It wasn't a happy moan, that was sure. "Doc, is she all right?"

"'Doctor' please, Ronald, or Eliana. She is unconscious, or perhaps asleep now. Get me some clean clothes from the dresser for her, please." As Ron searched the drawers for the required garments, Eliana called again. "Also, go down the hall to the linen closet and get two of the big beach-size towels."

"Okay!" As Ron turned to leave the room, a downpour began outside, with the wind whipping the drops hard into the west facing windows. "Did we leave any doors open downstairs, or windows?" The answer was quick, "Just the patio door to the pool, better run down and get it, too. But hurry back, I am almost done here."

Running downstairs, Ron secured the patio door, then made a quick check to make sure nothing else was open, before running back up and fetching the towels from the closet. "Leave the clothes on the bed, and come help me with her, Ronald." After awkwardly helping the doctor to dry Charley off with one towel, Ron helped wrap her in the second, then carried her into the bedroom and laid her on the bed. After drying herself as best she could, and wringing some water out of her wet skirt, Eliana asked Ron to fetch her robe from her bedroom, and wrapped herself in it before examining Charley further. Ron turned his back as she dressed the girl, then he helped tuck her in.

About to leave, Ron was interrupted by his Ronnunicator going off. It was JJ. "If you haven't guessed, we're on the way back, on foot, thank you, T-Girl. Anyway, don't lock us out!" Eliana looked up, "Tell her to come in through the side door into the utility room, please, I will get some dry towels for them." Ron relayed the message, which JJ acknowledged, but said they would be at least twenty minutes. Eliana asked Ron to watch Charley while she went to get out of her wet clothes.

Almost twenty minutes later on the nose, the three girls arrived at the utility room door. Given three towels each, they dried off with one, and wore the other two as they trooped through the house and headed up to see Charley, though Eliana told them not to disturb her. It hadn't surprised them much to hear the girl had collapsed. "She never learns, or she doesn't care enough, I honestly don't know, Doctor." JJ told Eliana.

Surprisingly, the sight of Rufus only caused a pair of double-takes, and a frown. The mole rat shuffled uneasily under the looks, but found himself quickly ignored. Though, he thought he heard Belle whisper to her sister something like, "_He sort of looks like a naked Sontaran, but handsomer."_

That Ron took little notice of three towel wrapped girls was proof of his distraction, but then again, they were beach towels, he didn't miss much. "_Rufus is a...mutant? Hmm, Shego thought he was that once before, because he was so smart. And I caused it? Another 'Roncident'? Man, for all the things I do right, the ones I do wrong certainly stand out."_

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In her hideout, the Rani was frustrated. "_Fifty-Four Hours, why did I have to start this experiment now? I can't leave it unmonitored, nor speed it up. Oh, my impulses are as badly considered as when I was at the academy. The only fault of the Doctor's I could _not _criticize, because I had it, too. In any event, once I have this done, I will get the remaining Tempusite and, if there are no objections, leave this mudball the Doctor loves so well, if only because staying here increases the chance of meeting him again!"_

She studied readouts on several panels along the side of the chamber in which she had placed Kim and Shego. "_So far, excellent progress. Some odd mental patterns in Shego, and a short one from Miss Possible, but otherwise, doing well. From what I see, I really don't think Miss Possible will live long after completion, however, far too much strain on her. The other one, though...no, keep her briefly for an examination, then dispose of her as well."_

She looked at two of her creations standing by the door. "Two days, and a bit more, and you will be back digging up my prizes." Both creatures looked vaguely unhappy, "Don't take that attitude! You two were the ones who ate my burrowers, after all!" She sighed, a food supply for her creations had been one of her chief vexations, and limited space to confine them in. "_Only seventy-five cages! Well, I shouldn't complain, I couldn't have fit half a dozen in my TARDIS, and still been able to breath. I could always feed them those creatures that imbecile, DNAmy, slapped together. But no, I still want to study them, never can tell where one may discover something new, after all."_ With that, she returned to her study of the instruments, humming an ancient Gallifreyan hymn as she jotted down figures in her journal.

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Dinner was a somber affair. Inez had washed the girls regular clothes while they were off digging, so they had something clean to wear. "Why did we leave all our other clothes at the Possibles, again?"

Belle griped. "To show Doctor Director that we intend to come back, sort of." JJ replied. "But, we're going to have wardrobe problems tomorrow, or whenever we get back to digging, if we do." In answer to curious looks, she explained. "Some of the stuff we used for our 'clothes' today weren't meant to get rain soaked. We're looking at some things shrinking, and staying shrunk." At that point, conversation was interrupted by their comms going off.

JJ got hers out first. "Hi Wade! What's up?"

"I wanted to tell Charley something, is she there?" Seeing JJ's grin fade, he became concerned, "Is Charley all right?"

"She's a little sick, but should be all right. Oh, Hey! There is someone else you _might_ want a look at." She pointed her video pick-up at Rufus, who waved nervously. "R...r...ru...Rufus?!" The subject of the mutated mole rat took up twenty minutes of questions, scans, and theories, before Wade suddenly remembered his original reason for calling. "Oh, guys! I set something up for you to practice with your weapons, tomorrow, if possible, and I sort of arranged for some stuff you need to be shipped to the place. Rather I asked a friend, err, a female friend to get what you might need, with your other stuff at the Possibles." Ron's eyes widened. "A 'female' friend, Wadester? And who is the lucky lady?"

Wade spluttered incoherently for several moments before replying, "Not that kind of friend Ron! Okay, I asked Zita, all right?!"

Ron grinned slyly, "Oh, Really? Moving in on Felix's territory?" Wade almost choked. "NO! I mean, no, Ron, I wouldn't do that, you know me better. She's just the best girl I know at computers. In fact, she offered to fill in for me if I ever needed a break from you guys, again."

Ron looked pleasantly surprised, "Oh, hey! That's cool! Always thought a back-up might be a good idea, Wade. You know Kim worries about you being 24/7, right?" The boy genus nodded, "I know, Ron, I wish she wouldn't, but I can't stop her, can I ?"

"No force known to man could, and I wouldn't try. So, you look over all that stuff on Rufus, and let me know, Okay? That last comment of Charley's worries me."

"You got it, Ron. Oh, Ladies? I uploaded th GPS coordinates of the place I mentioned to Thundagirl, so you can jump up there in the morning, if Charley is okay."

"Thanks, Wade!" chorused three voices. Ron blinked, "_Wow, that sounded just like...Nah!"_

Out in the storm, Saul and Fred prowled tirelessly around the perimeter of the Rani's old camp, watching for her return.

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The following morning, Charley was awake, and had a healthy appetite, but Eliana was not quite ready to let her out of bed. She didn't remember the night before, and was confused by Ron's trying to avoid her gaze, mistakenly thinking it might have to do with Rufus. Upon hearing Wade's news, however, she insisted on making the flight, promising not to exert herself, and Eliana reluctantly agreed.

Since JJ didn't need training on new weapons, she unloaded her gear from T-Girl, and stayed behind. Charley also left the boys. Though they couldn't communicate with JJ like they could Charley, they could still watch for the Rani and sound an alarm if she appeared.

Once the three girls were aboard, the Reeders fussed over Charley almost to the point of making her pop, getting her into her transit tube first before entering their own. After transit, however, even she had to admit it had taken something out of her, but hated having to be helped to dress.

They had appeared over a small mountain range in New Mexico. Below was a low plateau dotted with stands of aspen amidst more numerous ponderosa pines. A walled compound contained a low, sprawling home which mixed old style rough stone walls and more modern elements, including solar panels on the roof, and some very solid looking portals, the front door a heavy looking double door set into a frame that looked solid enough to stop a tank, literally. A six bay garage was one of several detached buildings. A helipad sat about fifty yards west of the house, slightly uphill from it, just inside the western compound wall. T-Girl descended smoothly down to land on it, as two figures came into view, standing in a small concrete shelter to one side of the pad.

As Charley and the Reeder sisters disembarked, the two figures approached, studying their new arrivals, human and machine, with keen interest. One, a tall, dark haired woman with a stern visage, stopped well short of them. The second, a short, muscular, and cheerful looking blond, walked up to Charley and offered her hand. "Welcome to New Mexico, my name is Sam McCarron, the tall, dark, and silent one is Jen Paladin, I understand you have some interesting guns to show us?"

As Charley took Sam's hand, her vision suddenly began to swim, and the world became a very unstable place. Her eyes rolled up in her head, and she fainted dead away.

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Well, I think I will stop this one here. Shego and Kim in a tank for a while, not a lot of action for the moment, but some is coming, so be patient.

Please read and Review


	8. New Things

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, any characters from that show, or those from other media I may reference in my stories.

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Doctor Betty Director was frowning over the latest report relayed from GJSAD on the attack on Monkeyfist's Guyana home. "So, the bombs that were used for this attack were not American made?"

Sitting in front of Betty's desk, Abby Hogan shook her head, "No, Chinese, and the number of ways they could have come into the attacker's hands are almost too numerous to thoroughly investigate them all. Relatively speaking, they are common on the underground armaments markets around the world."

She thought carefully before she ventured her next observation. "Another thing, how long do you think it will be until we get shut out of this whole business by the Air Force, or rather, the US Government?"

Betty slapped the folder shut. "As long as this involves international criminals that _we _are responsible for, this is a matter of interest for us, and we _will_ investigate it!" She shot out of her seat and began pacing, "Which won't stop them from banning us from any sites on US soil where attacks occur, but they would have to get the governments of other countries to do the same, which would entail telling them that it is an American aircraft doing the bombing, or coming up with another plausible story, and I don't know if they can."

"Well, don't underestimate them, they may just go over your head to the Chief Executive Council, who have reasons to be humble, and accommodating, lately."

"Because Global Justice Europe screwed up last year, and needed Kim Possible to stop a guy who wanted to annihilate mankind? Let one of those other Agencies who looked the guy over explain why they didn't take him seriously either! They CEC can't let guilt make them fold every time that mistake is brought up! If we act like a pushover now, it will guarantee that Global Justice is the agency shut down, if those politicians trying to 'simplify' our fight get their way!" One of her phones buzzed, but she only waved a hand at it, "Take that, and if _it's_ UNIT again, we have _not _heard anything from Charley Cob!"

Abby grimaced, but took up the phone, "Yes, Grace, who have you got?" Her eyes widened, and she looked up at a curious Betty Director, "It _is _Charley Cob!" Betty blinked, then nodded, "Trace" and took the phone herself. "Charley, are you all right?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I can't talk long, in fact, I am not really supposed to be talking to you at all, you may know what I mean." Betty nodded to herself, "_UNIT!" _"Yes I do, Charley."

"But, I can meet you, if it is a very fast meeting. You have to pick the place, and it can't be a Global Justice facility. You can bring anyone you want, but our conversation has to be private."

"All right, Charley, but when?"

"No earlier then tomorrow morning, I'm afraid. I have to use Thundagirl**, **of course, and the earliest that can happen is then."

"Okay, Charley, meet me where you first arrived on Earth. Can you do it at seven tomorrow morning?"

"Yes Ma'am, I can be there."

"Are you going to get in trouble for this, Charley?"

"No more trouble than I already am. I'll be there tomorrow, I promise." Charley disconnected.

Abby looked curiously at Betty. "Well, that was civilized." Doctor Director briefly looked surprised at the comment, then smiled slightly. "Oh, I wanted to vent some anger somewhere, but not at her. Besides, I am actually worried about those girls...Damn! I should have asked Charley to bring the rifles! Well, have to mention them when we meet. Oh, get Technical on the line, I want to speak with them, while you arrange an escort and transport. At least, Charley sounded in good health."

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In point of fact, Charley made the call sitting in bed, and she was frustrated to tears by the fact. And now anger, mostly directed at herself, was boiling up in her. "_Great first impression. I fainted! Not even halfway to the house!" _She felt her forehead. "_The fever was gone this morning, I know it was, Doctor Chosa checked!"_ She opened a bedside drawer, dropped her comm in it, and slammed it. "_And now I'm lying to someone who doesn't deserve it. Or not lying, just not telling the truth, implying things that she'll believe, same thing!"_ Tears began to run down her cheeks. "_How can I be a leader, with such poor judgment? Those Matrix feeds never affected me this badly before! Yeah, and I never tried to dig a tunnel the following day, either. Waste of time, I didn't even check the weather reports before starting, it's going to rain another day at least, all we dug will be filled with water for a while."_

She tugged at the collar of the nightshirt she was wearing. It was so big, it made her look like a little girl wearing something of her parents'. Her own clothes were folded neatly on a chair nearby. The guest room she had been put in was pleasant enough, there was some similarity with the decor of the rooms at Shego's house, but Charley didn't know enough about Earth culture to know what was what in such matters.

Her hosts' housekeeper and her daughter had put her to bed. The housekeeper was Eliana Chosa in another body, not with a degree in medicine, but one in motherhood that caused the same reaction in Charley. Obedience. And she couldn't truthfully argue with them, she was weak, tired after so little exertion it almost scared her. She scooted down and curled up on her side. "_Why is this happening? I never felt this way before, I always recovered faster. And I've been in a rush, practically since we stepped out of the TARDIS, in a hurry. Never hurried before, I learned better. Something I saw in the Doctor's eyes when we parted. Unlinked from the boys, I wouldn't have seen it otherwise. Does he know my fate? Why am I pushing so hard? I want to save Kim, and Shego, and I need to plan this, take it slowly, so why this urge to rush? I almost feel like something is pushing me."_

She tugged at the nightshirt collar again. If she had been alone, or with friends, she would discard it. Sleeping in clothes of any kind brought back bad memories. _Thirty of them, crammed in a bunker meant for twelve, stupid kids, some knowing it was a bad idea, but nobody wanted to sleep outside._

Her eyes fell on a painting on the wall, a landscape, mountains at sunrise, or sunset. "_Pretty scene. How many scenes like that have I missed in our travels. Five sets of eyes, and how rarely did I look at the scenery?"_

She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, "_I hope Beth and Belle are having a good time.."_

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"Oh, Wow! What is this monster?" The Reeder twins and Jen Paladin had just entered a workshop in one of the detached buildings. Belle and Beth carried their new rifles, and wore their equipment belts. And both girls had immediately been drawn to what sat on one workbench. It was a weapon, or rather a weapon system. It consisted of three separate weapons joined together, and equipped with a harness to allow the user to manage it's weight.

Jen smiled. "_That _is the current pet project of our personal armorer. Trying to get the recoil suppression system he designed to work well enough for me to handle it. The lower weapon is .50 caliber, semi-automatic, and shorter barreled then most weapons that caliber, so recoil is quite brisk. The upper side-by-side weapons are basically P90 submachine guns. He is trying to design a two or three hundred round ammo hopper for them, which will still allow the normal magazines to be loaded when they run out. The fifty loads from a ten round box magazine, and I would probably only carry one spare. This is basically a 'break-in' weapon, not intended for a long firefight."

Belle was peering at the recoil suppressor, "Looks very complex, hard to maintain." Jen nodded, "And expensive, not something the Army would care to mass-produce." Jen turned to the twins, "But, we're here to get you up to speed with your own weapons. So, what ammo do they take?"

"Oh, anything that will fit in a rifle, they can shoot." Belle answered, blithely. Seeing Jen's eyes narrow suspiciously, she continued, "Honestly! Here, I know, give me two bullets, any size, and I will prove it!" Still giving the two a frown, Jen went to a nearby heavy steel cabinet and worked the combination lock. After rummaging briefly in it, she turned around and held up two bullets, a .50 caliber round, and a .223 rifle round. "These do?" There was the slightest hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Belle nodded, and removed two magazines from her belt. She set them on the bench. Jen came over and regarded them curiously. Belle took the .50 caliber bullet from Jen and dropped it in one magazine, and it disappeared. Jen's eyebrows rose. Belle took the second bullet from her and dropped it in the second magazine. Then, she held her rifle up so Jen could see the muzzle clearly, but not pointing it at her. "Watch the bore." Jen looked, and saw that the bore size was large, big enough to be .60 caliber. But when Belle inserted the first magazine in the gun, it contracted before her eyes. Jen's eyes widened. Then, Belle removed the clip, and replaced it with the one holding the .223 round. After expanding again when the weapon was empty, the bore contracted again, even smaller this time. "See?"

"See it, yes, believe it? Uh, where exactly did you get these from?" She saw both girls grimace. "Ah, let me guess, classified?" Beth shrugged, "More 'unbelievable', then classified."

"I see. Now, can you actually fire a .50 Caliber round from those, and stay standing?"

"Oh, yes. I misunderstood the recoil control at first, but basically, a set amount is negated completely, and only the remainder is felt. I think I can fire them on automatic with no problem." A mildly stunned expression appeared on the mercenary's face. "Uh, how many rounds can you load?" She finally asked.

"Twenty-five of the fifty, forty of the smaller round." Jen blinked at that, then returned to the ammo cabinet and took out more ammunition. "This, I have to see."

Twenty minutes later, Jen stared in amazement, as Belle fired off a full clip of fifty caliber with no more difficulty controlling the recoil then Jen would have had with an M-16. The target was thoroughly demolished. "Is this one of those 'I have got to get me one of those', moments?" Sam asked, coming up besides her. They were at the outside range for this, running parallel to the northern wall of the compound. A deep bank of earth absorbed bullets that got past or through targets.

"I don't think we're on the mailing list for that particular manufacturer." Jen replied.

Sam pouted, "Ah, I though everyone liked us. We certainly get enough spam ads from the big companies." en nodded, watching Beth step up to the line. "Something tells me we may be better off not knowing."

That drew a confused 'huh', from Sam, just as Beth let fly. Both women actually winced at what happened to the target. "But I can have a wet dream about having one, can't I?"

"Sam!"

It took three hours of firing various types of ammunition to determine the magazine capacities of the two weapons. Belle had underestimated the capacity for .223 rounds by two. Other, newer rounds were tested, as well. The two mercs found they could fire the weapons as well, provided their owners kept one hand in contact with them. If it weren't for the expense of .50 caliber ammo, they might have used it exclusively for their shoots.

The day had become quite hot, and all four were hot and sweaty by the time they broke for a late lunch. Seated at an outdoor table behind the house, they ate chili and buttered _tortillas_, washed down with iced tea. "So, Charley's pistol can fire any pistol cartridge, as far as you know?" Sam asked.

Beth nodded, but politely finished chewing and swallowed before replying, "Yep, the only one in our group that didn't have her ranged weapons changed was JJ Ko."

"And what does she use?"

Both twins blinked, then each looked at the other, inviting the other to field that question. Belle finally spoke, "That would be even harder to explain, and believe."

After lunch, the twins demonstrated the FKIP, partially to explain JJ's weapons. At a range of ten feet, Belle knocked a cement-filled paint can twenty feet off a stump. Then their hosts put them through a series of drills with regular ammo, firing from different stances, and varying the distance of their targets.

With dinnertime approaching, the four used a pair of outdoor showers to wash the sweat off, then let the sun dry them off. Looking at their hosts, Belle whispered to Beth, "JJ is going to be real sorry she missed this trip."

Seeing the girls regarding their dirty clothes with some distaste, Sam smacked her forehead. "Ack! Forgot to show you the stuff that arrived for you!" Passing each girl a towel, she wrapped herself up as well, and led them towards the house. They left Jen staring off towards the mountains peaks, lost in thought. "Takes longer to dry that much bod." Sam stage-whispered to the girls as they walked away.

Inside, they were shown four nylon carryalls, each with a name tag. Grabbing their own, the twins took them into their assigned room and emptied them out on their respective beds. "Whoa! Whoever this Zita is, she has good sense, and good taste!" Belle pulled on some underwear, jeans, and a tank top, then looked at Beth, "Perfect fit! Now, how do you suppose she got our measurements so exact?" As soon as both girls were dressed, and had moved their new toiletries into the bathroom, they took Charley's bag in to her room.

The new clothes and other items seemed to cheer the girl up, but she was obviously still bummed, and having both twins separately check her for fever annoyed her. She blinked at one thing in the bag. "Is this acceptable clothing?"

"On a Brazilian beach, it would be." Sam McCarron walked in, dressed up in clean clothes, long hair still swirling loose, unbraided since her shower. "That's what they call a 'dental floss' bikini. Someone must not think you're very modest." Beth rolled her eyes, "Gee, I can't imagine why." She grinned at Charley, "Ours aren't quite as small, but then..."

"Yeah, yeah, you have more to contain!" Charley interrupted, but returned the grin. "How did the shooting go?"

The replies to that could have gone on for hours, but Sam cut it short, sending the twins to dinner. When Charley looked expectantly at her, she shook her head, "Dolores says no, and her word goes, here. She'll bring you your dinner, Charley." She gave the girl a sympathetic look. "She is used to dealing with whatever injuries or illnesses we bring back from our jobs, and we have found that she has good judgment, even without a medical degree." Charley looked crestfallen, but nodded.

As Sam turned to go, however, she looked up. "I have to meet someone at seven tomorrow morning, using our ship. It's important, whether I feel good or not." Sam frowned, "Are you going alone?" Charley nodded, "I have to, if I get in trouble for it, I want to be the only one." She looked steadily into Sam's eyes, until the older woman sighed and nodded, "Okay, but while you're under our roof, we are responsible for you, so tonight, you just rest, Okay?" Charley nodded acquiescence.

At dinner, the conversation started with practical advice. "Well, first, I think you should have one clip of fifty cal, if you start with eight, total." Jen began, "The other seven should have one type of ammo in them. I think you should use the 6.8mm RBC round for those, you should be able to get 40 at least in each clip. I don't want to say anything about what Charley should carry until she actually shoots for me on the range."

Sam added, "Of Course, if you think you are going up against heavily armored targets, or big ones, you might carry more fifty cal, but make sure to memorize which clips are which when you arrange them in your belt pouches." Neither twin decided to mention that that precaution wasn't necessary, they could tell what ammo was in each clip just by touching them. Or, at least, when they were in armor. If they weren't planning on wearing the armor, then the memorizing was essential.

The next subject was themselves, and Charley. "We weren't told a great deal about you, you have your secrets, and we respect that." Sam began, "But what can you tell us about yourselves? You're definitely kind of young to be in this sort of business, but you obviously know how to handle firearms, how long have you been using them?"

"Well, we grew up on a farm, and in our case it was a good idea to know how to use them." Belle replied, "And then we had some military experience." Beth winced a little at that, though whether from unpleasant memories, or thinking it was a bad thing to bring up, neither woman could tell.

"In the United States Armed Forces?" Sam asked.

"Uh, no. That's a complicated story, and not one I think we're supposed to tell, sorry."

"I see. Okay, then I guess I will ask the most awkward question. Have any of you ever killed? A human being, I mean." Both girls stopped eating, and looked at each other, briefly, before Beth nodded, and Belle replied, "All of us have, yes."

"Even Charley?" Both girls nodded. "How old were you when you...you know?"

Both girls briefly seemed confused, frowning as they went through some math in their heads. "Uh, Sixteen would be about right." Converting their ages into Earth years was still difficult for both.

Jen frowned, but remained silent. Sam gaped briefly, then asked, "What were you doing killing at sixteen? In what army?"

"We were conscripted, and please, going any farther could get us in trouble." Beth pleaded.

Both mercenaries sat back, looking wholly dissatisfied. "Excuse us, just a few minutes, please." Sam said, before both women got up and left the dining room. Beth looked at Belle, "I wish I knew what was safe to talk about and what wasn't!" Her sister nodded agreement. "Well, at least we aren't lying to them, just not telling them everything. And they said they respected our right to keep secrets."

In another room, used by Jen as her office, the two women were staring at one Wade Load on a computer screen. "Okay, Wade, some things about these girls are really getting too weird to ignore. I know we promised not to pry, but we have our own security to worry about here." Sam was doing the talking, more or less as usual. "We did check them out, and they have solid backgrounds, but, would they stand up to an in-depth look?"

The boy genius looked sheepish, "Those backgrounds were created by Global Justice, who had charge of them, until a few days ago."

"Charge of them why? And, did they escape, are they fugitives?" Wade's head was shaking as fast as it could, "No, no, Global let them out to hunt for Kim, I told you that, and it's true. And, they almost had her, but she and Shego were both abducted just hours before they arrived."

"Okay, but these weapons of theirs, and that ship, are pure Sci fi, so we have three possibilities. Tech we haven't heard a whisper of, which we could partially blame on you.." Wade squirmed a bit, "Time travelers, which we prefer not to believe in, for comfort reasons, or people from another world. I mean, they are human, right?"

"Oh, of course they are! Uh, as to your other theories, try a little bit of both." That stopped conversation for a few minutes. Finally, it was Jen who spoke, "Okay, if they came from the future, they have knowledge that people would want, right? That would make them too valuable for Betty Director to let out of her keeping."

"Not really, as far as the knowledge part goes. In fact, the only thing they know about Earth at all is that it's where mankind first began, they know nothing about history as it occurred on this world at all."

"As far as technical knowledge, or scientific, they know about as much about how things work as an average teenager here would. How to make things work, but not so much about _how_ they work. And, not to disparage country folk, but the rural environment they grew up in on their home world didn't expose them to as much tech as they might have seen growing up in a city. JJ is the same, and Charley...didn't have much contact with people her own age until she was conscripted to join an army."

"As far as financial knowledge, even if they saw a Smarty Mart on their home world, it wouldn't mean Smarty Mart was a great long-term investment, they could go bankrupt and have the name bought, or similar disasters, any number of times in between. So, they really don't have knowledge that makes them valuable to anyone, it's from too far in the future, and they know too little about the intervening period."

Jen Paladin nodded, "Okay, that does make sense. And I suppose you hacked Global's files on them, to get this info?" Wade tried an innocent look, but failed miserably at it. "Thought so. So, we can't acknowledge what we know, without causing complications." She sighed, "Certainly not a new situation, for us. Okay, Wade, talk to you later."

The twins were nervously picking at their desserts when the women returned. Their own unfinished plates had been removed, already. Dolores did not allow her cooking to be eaten cold, and abandoning an unfinished meal meant losing it. She brought dessert to the two of them, while giving them a scolding look, which they both acknowledged, sheepishly.

As she departed, Sam muttered to Jen, "Well, at least we had _almost_ finished, this time." She then looked across at their guests. "So, you're trying to find Kim Possible. Any particular reason why her?"

"It's Charley's idea, she's our leader. I guess they are kind of alike, I hear Kim doesn't worry enough about herself, especially when others are in trouble of some kind."

"That's about right, from what we've heard. We've only met her twice, and neither time had much opportunity to just talk about things. So, how did Charley end up the leader?"

"Well, she got us out of a dangerous place. And, we no longer had any family, and she had something she wanted to do, something pretty dangerous, and we felt we owed her...or, we just wanted to leave the bad memories behind, I'm not sure." as Belle wound down, Beth spoke up, "She's just better at planning things then we are, for a group, I mean. She's usually very methodical, and likes to take things slow, whenever possible. But, when things get 'busy' she's always the busiest, trying to keep track of everything, and handle new developments, and sometimes she just wears herself out. But, she has good reasons for a lot of the stress she takes on, she coordinates some of our best 'assets', and she's the only one who can."

"Anything she can't do?" Sam asked.

"Swim!" both twins blurted out, together, then blushed slightly, with Belle elaborating, "I mean, she can stay afloat, but she's really a poor swimmer, she didn't get any chance to learn how growing up, and hasn't really had an opportunity since."

"Really?" Sam mused, "Well, we have a lap pool here, but I don't think you will be here long enough for swimming lessons, am I right?" Both girls nodded solemnly, and Beth replied, "We're just waiting for our enemy to move, then we have to go after her."

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It was two minutes past seven the next morning when Doctor Director heard Thundagirl rumble into existence high above her. She stood on the rim of the depression where Ron Stoppable had concealed the Sloth before his attempt to infiltrate Drakken's lair. Her security team was spread out in a loose cordon around her. The tilt-jet aircraft they had arrived in was sitting fifty yards north of her. It had already caused a pair of early morning drivers to slow down as they drove up the pass. Luckily, none were around now, as T-Girl settled down about ten yards away.

After a few minutes, her port side door, which slid to the rear, opened, and Charley Cob emerged. The girl walked quickly over to where Betty stood. "Ma'am, I'm really sorry to be acting this way towards you, honestly." Charley began, contritely, "But I seem to be caught between several groups who want to keep their own secrets, but not from me."

Betty nodded slowly. "Actually, you can't imagine how well I understand your situation, Charley. But, I can't say I have ever come to like it." At the pained look that came to the girl's face, she softened her tone a bit, "I don't blame you for the situation, Don't worry. Now, what can you tell me, or feel you need to? I hope you didn't arrange this just to apologize for your sudden disappearance."

"Oh, no, Ma'am! I think you need to know some things, and I'm not happy about keeping them from you. First, the enemy we are after is one of the Doctor's people." Betty's one eye widened as far as it could. "She is called The Rani, and I think she is here on Earth to acquire a certain substance she uses for her experiments. She is a biochemist and geneticist, and I think when she arrived she ingratiated herself with DNAmy, to gain access to her lab, and other facilities."

"Do you think they are in partnership?"

"No, Ma'am! I believe the Rani may have taken an 'apprentice' role to gain access to DNAmy's properties, but she wouldn't have stayed subservient for long. And she would not accept a partnership arrangement with someone she would consider an inferior scientist. She has certainly taken over, and may even have killed DNAmy by now."

"And how does that tie into Kim's disappearance?"

"Well, Wade Load told me that Kim sometimes went to check on a home DNAmy owns in Middleton, so it occurred to me that she might have encountered The Rani there. So, while I was at the Possibles, I sent Fred over there, and checked the place over." "_I know you kept track of me and the girls, but I hope you couldn't keep track of Fred the whole time."_

There was no sign that Betty had detected a lie. "Did you find anything?" Betty hoped Abby, who was monitoring the conversation back at base, would get a forensic team moving.

"There was some disturbed furniture visible through the windows." Which happened to be true, according to a recon by Wade. "But what was more interesting, was Shego came by the place, right after she escaped custody." Not true, but Wade promised that there was now evidence to back the next lie up. "Well, she entered the place, had a look around, then left. Fred followed her to the airport, where she caught a commuter flight, of all things, to Oklahoma City."

"Did you have Fred there, constantly?"

"Uh, well, no ma'am. I sent him back there with the intent of maybe having him find a way into the house, after other leads didn't pan out. Anyway, I thought it might be an idea to track Shego, with the idea that she might be searching for Kim, for her own reasons."

Betty was silent for some minutes. "_Shego trying to find Kim? Maybe, if rumors about her attitude change are true. Maybe trying to make up for what happened in Go City? Hasn't stopped her criminal activities, though. Which meant she had access to sources that might have led her to suspect DNAmy. And naturally, she wasn't going to report her suspicions to us."_ "That might make sense, Charley. I also have another matter we have to discuss, your weapons."

"Oh, that's not a problem anymore, ma'am, someone already solved it. A few days ago, our rifles were switched for new ones, while aboard T-Girl, no less, but she didn't detect the swap, or any intruders." A surprised look on Doctor Director's face gave way to a suspicious one. "It's true, my handgun was changed, too. I can show it to you, if you want." At Betty's nod, she retrieved her pistol from the ship. She still had one clip loaded with .357 magnum, and one with .22 ammo, so she was able to demonstrate how the weapon's bore adjusted to it's load. "The twins' rifles are the same."

"And this happened a few days ago? Have you any idea how?"

Charley pursed her lips, then nodded, "The race who made our gear exists in this time frame. The best I can say is they somehow knew it when we arrived here, and are looking out for us, for some reason. And yes, that kind of weirds me out, too."

"It does a little more then 'weird me out', Charley." She looked around, as if to spot any spying aliens, "But I have a suspicion there's nothing I can do about it, is there?" Charley shrugged in answer. "And you have no idea how far they will go to 'look out' for you?"

Charley dropped her gaze, and seemed uncomfortable. "In the future, they said if we became what we were fighting against, they would abandon us. If we break the laws of any world, I mean are really guilty of breaking them, they will not save us from just punishment." She looked at her watch, "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I have to get back. In order to justify my reason for taking T-Girl, I have to make another quick stop." She met Betty's gaze again, steadily, and after a moment Betty nodded, "Okay, Charley, I understand. Take care of yourself, and thank you for telling me these things. When this is over, however, I want you and the girls to come back to Global Justice, please." At Charley's nod, she added, "And one more thing." She reached into a pocket in her jacket and withdrew four items. "These are temporary passports, since you might have to go out of the country." She handed them over, "Charley, tell me, can I trust you?"

The question startled the girl, but she recovered quickly, "Not blindly, ma'am. I can lie, but I'll never lie to protect myself, or deny any responsibility for my actions." She delivered this with a solemn face, and unflinching gaze. Betty nodded, "I believe you, Charley. Take care of yourself, and not just after everyone else has been taken care of, understand?" That caused Charley's eyes to drop before she nodded, "Yes, ma'am. Excuse me, I really have to go." With that, she turned and hurried aboard T-Girl, the hatch sliding shut behind her.

Doctor Director turned and walked slowly away. "_Just like Kim,_ _Charley, you're probably your own worst enemy."_ A sudden inrush of air as Thundagirl jumped stirred her hair. She turned to look at the vacant space where she had been, and past it to where one of her technicians was emerging from hiding. The man studied the read-outs from a scanner in his hand, the other hand held in a thumbs-up attitude. Then he frowned, and turned the thumb down. Walking over to where T-Girl had been, he scanned the soil briefly before bending over a picking up a very small object. Holding it up, he shrugged at Betty. "_Oh, well, worth a try to get a 'fly-on-the-wall' camera aboard._

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Annabelle Reeder and Sam McCarron were waiting by the helipad when T-Girl set down, dropping her starboard ramp this time. But when Charley didn't emerge within a couple of minutes, the two concerned women went aboard, to find her suspiciously under dressed, but pulling on her clothes hastily. She also kept her face turned away from them. Sam didn't wait for her to finish, but walked around and took Charley's chin in her hand. It was obvious the girl had been crying. "Are you feeling all right, Charley?" She felt her forehead, but no fever was evident.

"I'm okay." Charley pulled away from Sam and finished buttoning up her blouse. "Just emotions getting the better of me. Some leader, huh?" the sarcastic tone of the last made Sam and Belle both frown. Before either could say anything, though, Charley headed for the open hatch. "We have to get some things done quickly, I don't think we can count on things staying quiet long." Behind her, the two women exchanged concerned glances. "She's about to go into her 'mission mode'. I know the signs." Belle whispered to Sam.

Sam frowned slightly, "Why do you call it that?"

Belle looked puzzled a second, then brightened, "Oh, JJ started calling it that a while back, not sure why. Just means she is about to go into a 'no time for fun' mindset. All work, etc." Belle looked after the girl, "And she usually chooses the right time to do it, too."

By lunchtime, Charley had fired through nearly a hundred rounds of various sizes, until Jen was satisfied with her accuracy. They used the indoor range, this time, and avoided the heat of the day. When they emerged, however, they found the others had apparently not. Sam and the Reeders were under the outdoor showers, fully clothed, and covered with mud. As it became practical, both clothes and mud were being removed. Jen looked askance at her partner. "Had to take them in the caves, didn't you." Sam just returned a grin that stood out clearly amidst the dark soil on her face. "They wanted a little wrestling, I gave them a little wrestling. Fully clothed, as you can see, not like when we..."

"Sam!"

Lunch was soup and sandwiches made with home-baked bread. Sam and the Reeders attended in towels, which drew a dark look from Dolores, and a suppressed giggle from her daughter, who was about fifteen. As they ate, Jen turned to Charley, "Anything more you want to do after lunch?"

The girl looked up, distractedly, "What? No, I think...I don't know, we have a few hours to kill, but the gun practice was what we came for."

Jen nodded, "Okay, how about this? The twins say you aren't very good in the water." Charley flushed slightly, and shot an accusing glance at her friends, but it bounced off, they obviously felt no guilt over that revelation. "So, after your lunch settles, why don't I help you with a few quick lessons, you never know when you'll need them." After a moment, Charley nodded.

"OOo, Charley gets to try on her 'dental floss'." Beth teased. Charley turned bright red. Smiling, Sam stood up, wrapping her towel more securely around herself. "Well, I intend to grab some oil and take advantage of this sunshine, you two are welcome to join me. Have to find a more secluded spot, our 'armorer' is on the grounds, and we don't need to distract him." She pointed towards the workshop, outside of which was parked one seriously beat-up pick-up truck. "If only he took care of his truck the way he takes care of guns."

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At some point Kim Possible became fully aware of what had been done to her. Amidst the swirling light show and other weirdness, she became aware of the baby inside her. What puzzled her was her lack of emotion. Were her feelings being suppressed? What were her feelings? That she had been raped in some fashion, what had not occurred in Go City had now been visited upon her? Except, somehow she was aware that that had not happened, not in the physical sense.

Who, or worse, _what_ was the father of the child? She had experienced the same memory pattern that Shego had, reliving all the development of her varied skills, and even divined the purpose. "_Passing all I know to the child? At least, the physical stuff?" _But, not just the child she bore within her. She felt the whole of the chamber's interior, somehow, and could feel three distinct presences sharing it with her. "_Shego, and another baby, inside her. And somehow, all this from me is going to that child, too. They'll have both our combined skills. Should be a fun pair to raise..."_

She also had a vague memory of a voice asking her a question, that contained hundreds of words, but somehow came out as four, "_**Would you save Shego?" **_Her answer was an automatic 'yes', but then, there were few people she knew that would not have triggered the same response from her, it was part of her nature. "_Did that matter? Was the question important?"_ She didn't have any idea.

Kim suddenly had a unique experience. Instead of the kick that usually showed that there was indeed life inside a mother, Kim's first awareness of her child's viability was when she felt it become aware, itself.

0000000000

"I wonder if I'm making a mistake in the way I'm going about this." Charley commented. She and the twins were dressing after translocating back to the house in the Yucatan. As they both looked at her in surprise, T-Girl touched down, and lowered her ramp. JJ and Ron stood just outside, and Beth quickly snatched up the carryall containing JJ's new gear and tossed it at her, hoping to surprise her, but failing, as the girl caught it easily. The redhead then turned to Ron, "Told you!" Beth stuck her tongue out at her friend, then shouldered her own bag and headed towards the house. The sun was setting, they hadn't left New Mexico until after dinner.

It wasn't until all of them were inside that Belle brought up Charley's comment. "Okay, how do you think you're going about this wrong?" That brought JJ's and Ron's attention, as well. Eliana was driving Inez home once again.

Charley was seated on one of the couches. Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes, then began speaking, "By just keeping the five of us, or six, counting Rufus, isolated from help while we take on the Rani. If we fail, It could go badly. And besides, I'm not letting the people who's job it is to deal with such a threat get involved. I really should call UNIT and tell them about the Tempusite. Their presence could have the effect I want, to force the Rani to flee back to wherever she has Kim and Shego. Otherwise, we have to scare her off. And maybe, not all of us." She looked at Ron.

"Me? Scare off a Time Lord? Why just me?" the boy was nowhere near as nervous sounding as many might have expected, in fact he sounded little more than mildly curious.

"To keep the Rani from learning about the four of us and T-Girl**, **basically. Her TARDIS might be able to analyze Thundagirl's capabilities, and ruin our chance to surprise her in her lair." Ron nodded, thoughtfully. "Meaning, you somehow want me and Rufus to drive her away?" Rufus, having heard his name mentioned while sitting in the Den, had wandered in, and looked considerably happier to be included by Ron in his thoughts.

"More like panic her, I want her running, if possible, more likely to make mistakes that way." Charley sighed, It would be something like that movie, with the little boy defending his home from two thieves?" An odd glint appeared in Ron's eye, and a grin began to form on his features. "Of course, the Rani isn't a bumbler, and she will have some nasty monsters with her." Oddly, that did nothing to diminish Ron's spirit. "So, the question is, can you defend this place alone, Ron, and put some kind of scare into her?" She almost thought he had spaced out again, but after a moment, he looked up.

"Oh, Yeah! The Ronman has a plan! Uh, can we take a quick jump to Japan first, though?" A confused

Charley nodded, and Ron's space split into a wide smile. "Booyah!"

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Okay, there goes Chapter seven. I don't think I surprised many people with Kim's and Shego's condition, but I promise I am not necessarily going down paths previously trodden.

As to 'Ron Alone'? Well, you have to wait for the next chapter, sorry.

Please Read and Review. Especially like some feedback on whether I am skipping too much description, I am assuming too much that people already read my earlier descriptions of some characters I created.


	9. Setbacks all around

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, or any other characters from her series, or any other media I may reference in my stories.

Charley Cob emerged from the den early the next morning, dressed in her robe, and carrying her clothes for the day. The acquisition of a folding cot had changed the sleeping arrangements around.

Ron now slept on one of the couches, while JJ and Charley shared the den. The Reeder sisters decided to try sharing the big bed in Kim's room. And, from the conversation as they descended the stairs, it had not gone well. "Well, if you do get married, the guy better wear body armor to bed, or he will have enough bruises in the morning to be able to charge you with assault!" Belle snapped at Beth.

"You're one to talk! Look at this!" Beth pulled up her tank top to expose a faint bruise on her ribs. "Yeah, you showed me that three times already!" Belle riposted, "Want to see my calf again? You'd think you were wearing boots to bed." Seeing Charley at the foot of the stairs, they stopped bickering. "Morning, Charley, did JJ and Ron get back?" They both turned to check the couch, and found the covers Ron used neatly folded on the cushions.

Charley yawned and nodded, "Three in the morning, I'm surprised he's up already. Shower clear?"

As Belle nodded, Eliana called from the kitchen table. "Ronald is outside, making his preparations. Six men from the village are helping him with them."

"But, they won't be helping him actually defend the house, right?" Charley asked.

Eliana shook her head, "No, and one or two took some persuading not to, they are both hunters, and would relish the opportunity to hunt these 'monsters'. But I explained that they might learn something that will cause the government to harass them, and that persuaded them not to."

Charley nodded, and started up the stairs. Beth called after her, "Any idea what Ron went to Japan for?" "No, JJ Came in and flopped straight on the bed without undressing, muttering something about 'shadow warriors' or something." Charley replied. Belle gave her an odd look, "I thought you two agreed that she got the cot, and you the bed?" Charley just shrugged and kept walking. Belle and Beth looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

It was just past noon when Charley went out to talk to Ron. "We'll be leaving in a few minutes, Ron, but you know how fast we can get back here. Eliana refuses to go to the village, on the off chance that the Rani might go there looking for her. I seriously doubt she will, though. I only hope she tries to get the Tempusite we have in the house, rather than cutting her losses."

Ron, sweatband around his head, shirt soaked with perspiration, nodded. "No Big, I promise nothing will happen to her, Charley. We're ready for whatever comes our way, and for once I have a back-up plan for the sitch."

Charley looked at him steadily for a few seconds, then dropped her eyes, "Ron, I'm the one leaving you here. If something happens to you, and I do rescue Kim, she will probably kick my butt, because it will be my responsibility."

"KP isn't like that. Well, I mean, she'll be unhappy if I get hurt, sure, and maybe a little mad, of course, but she wouldn't...um, hmm..." at a loss for words, Ron took the girl by the shoulders, causing her to look up. "Listen, this is the best plan, we need to take her by surprise, right? Bet she hates surprises, right? And we're going to surprise the hell out of her, trust me." Charley nodded, but the worry didn't leave her eyes. She suddenly gave Ron a hug, before turning and striding off towards the landing pad.

Watching her go, Ron wished he felt anywhere near as confident as he sounded. Then he turned back to directing his workforce in the construction of a few surprises for a certain Time Lord.

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Somehow Shego missed the transition from breathing liquid to breathing air. From what she knew of that process, it should have been dramatic, to say the least. Yet she was suddenly breathing air in the darkness, with a terrible aftertaste in her mouth. And then, the table she was secured to suddenly lurched, sliding out of the chamber into the light. Shego had to close her eyes completely for nearly a minute due to the drastic change in lighting. As she managed to squint at last, she tried to turn her head and look at Kim, but something held her head rigid, this time.

The air was cool after the warm chamber, especially over her distended abdomen. There was no sense of dampness anywhere on her skin, as if all the liquid had evaporated completely. She started to shiver, but only for a few moments before she heard a mutter, and then the table began to warm beneath her, as well as the air surrounding it, and soon all her exposed body felt comfortable. Except for the fact it was exposed, of course.

She heard movements, sounds of metal on metal, and then the Rani's voice, telling someone, or something to be careful. Shego hoped the thing they were being careful with was Kim. As far as she could see to one side with her eyes, a curtain had been erected between the two hatches, blocking all sight of Kim, though she could see some vague shadows. Since all the light came from above, nothing was clearly outlined.

So, she tried getting her voice to work. That took some effort, as it turned out, even though her throat didn't seem dry. A series of coughs, hacks, and misformed words came out before she managed a simple, "Hey!" Even that was a croak. "Be quiet! I will get to you in a minute!" snapped the Rani's voice. From what Shego could tell, she was already heading out the door with Kim. Deciding to wait for the Time Lord's return, Shego saved her voice, and strength. She contemplated her circumstance. Unlike Kim, Shego hadn't made the connection between the memories she had relived and the children, and was only concerned with who, or what, was the father.

She was highly doubtful about the child being fully human, and could only think it was another of the Rani's little 'monster' projects. One that shouldn't see the light of day. Only she had no idea how to prevent that. She didn't know if igniting her plasma, which would raise her body temperature, would harm the baby before the pain made her pass out. And before she could try it, the Rani returned.

"What kind of abomination have you created in me?!" Shego spat out as the Rani's face came into view. The Time Lord seemed shocked, but recovered quickly enough. Smirking slightly, she answered, "Well, well, it seems Miss Possible has figured it out, but you haven't." She turned away, briefly, giving directions to two of her big humanoid creatures, who moved forward and picked the whole table up off the rails, gently, and then set it down on what was obviously a wheeled platform, as they began moving towards the doorway immediately.

Once in the main passage, they turned left and then left again, into the center door, directly opposite the one to their cells. The entryway was identical, and the room proved to be full of equipment. As Shego came to a halt, her head was freed, allowing her to look around. The first thing she spotted was Kim, still held tightly on the same metal slab, positioned under a machine that Shego thought might be a scanner of some kind, positioned directly over her swollen belly. The contrast between that and the rest of Kim's emaciated body was grotesque to Shego. The girl seemed to be barely conscious, though her eyes did focus on Shego briefly, and she seemed to mouth the woman's name. "I'm here, Kim!" Shego cried, but the girl's eyes closed, and she went limp. The blue covering over the raw skin had stretched in it's place, and extended partially over the swell of her belly.

"Well, you may be, but I am not sure how long Miss Possible will be with us, she is almost used up." the Rani spoke in a conversational tone, "But she has lasted long enough for the purposes of this project." She began to make adjustments to the machine over Kim, while observing readouts on two nearby panels, one mounted on something Shego couldn't see clearly, beyond Kim's table..

"You BITCH!! You Cold-Hearted, Goddamn BITCH!!" Shego ranted at the woman to no avail, she ignored the rants and concentrated on her work. Finally, she gave a satisfied nod. "Time for delivery, I think." She flipped three switches on the machine, and it made a low warbling sound. After a pause watching one readout, she flipped a larger switch, and the sound smoothed into a steady tone for a few seconds, then ceased. And during that tone, to Shego's amazement, Kim's swollen abdomen collapsed. The girl jerked spasmodically for a few seconds, then stilled.

The Rani studied her readouts, then looked at the teen, "My, she is a fighter! But, I am afraid this method doesn't tie up all loose ends, so to speak, and internal bleeding will probably finish her." She then walked across to the far side of Shego's table.

Shego looked in horror at the girl, lying like a discarded toy on the other slab, then snapped her head around to glare at the Rani. The woman had already positioned a machine identical to the one used on Kim over her abdomen. "If she dies, I promise you, I'm going to make you pay for it, long and painfully!" The Rani wasn't impressed. "Really? I very much doubt that, and anyway, why do you even care about her? I believe you are supposed to be bitter enemies."

"People like you could make God and Satan join forces to stop them, never mind me and Kim!" The Rani just went on with her work as if Shego was some lab animal chattering at her. "_Enough! I may explode my own brain, but I am taking this bitch down!"_ But when she tried to ignite her plasma, absolutely nothing happened, though she felt something blocking it, something inside her! "What the..." And the Rani activated the machine. There was a brief moment of pain, and she felt the distended skin collapse, then nothing. "_Damn! I could make a fortune with...Dammit! I'm going to kill this bitch, and all her little creations, see if I don't!"_ After a few moments, though, Shego became aware of a odd warmth spreading through her abdomen. "_Internal Bleeding? My healing factor should handle that, but how bad is it in Kim?!"_

"Success! Two perfectly viable little girls. To see if the experiment was a success, I believe I will age them to six months, and see if they can walk." She looked at Shego, "You were walking at six months, weren't you? Never mind. You two!" She spoke to two of her beasts, "Take them back to their cell, Shego can hold Miss Possible in her lap and comfort her as she dies." One of the beasts promptly grabbed a hold of Shego and lifted her up, the table releasing her automatically.

Shego tried to struggle, but was very weak from her ordeal, and caused the monster no difficulty at all. Her plasma still refused to ignite. She soon found herself back in the stone cell, where the monster did actually stoop low before dropping her on the floor. Then it left the cell as the second entered, carrying Kim. This one walked over to Shego and barely bent it's knees before dropping the unconscious girl right on top of her. They barely missed a head to head impact, but Shego thought she felt Kim's head hit the floor over her right shoulder. "_These monsters took 'in my lap' literally, it seems."_

Shego felt something odd then, an increase in the discomfort in her abdomen, and a sudden pain in her forehead, but also the oddest tingling sensation, sweeping through her, and causing her to lose consciousness.

The Rani finished adjusting the controls on her two smaller time chambers. "There, that should take a while! And give me time to get some unfinished business done. Namely, recover the last three containers of Tempusite! Two or three days at the most, digging to the deepest one will be the hardest, and then back here to test my latest creations' motor skills. Hmm, maybe nine months would be wiser?" She adjusted the controls again. "There! By the time we get back, Miss Possible will certainly be dead, and possibly Shego as well, but not likely. And not kind of me to leave her in there with a corpse! Ah, well, at least I will have a special treat to feed any of you who please me, two-day dead human, eh?" The monsters seemed to understand, and did look somehow happier. "IF any you please me, that is! Come along, we will need more for this expedition."

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Ron and Rufus sat on one of the couches, munching nachos and watching the satellite TV. 'Agony County' was on, in Spanish, and Ron was enjoying how much he could actually follow of it. "Man, I guess I remember a lot more of what I was taught then I thought, Rufus!"

"I would say so, Ron. Indeed, you seem to remember a great many things when you need to." Ron looked suspiciously at his pal, who had apparently gotten past his word choice problems. "Was that a crack?" Before Rufus could answer, a soft beeping sound came from the Ronnunicator. Both of them looked at it, then each other. "Show Time, Buddy!" Ron activated the device, and pushed two buttons, and Charley's voice came over it, followed by Wade's. "She's here, guys, plan is in operation!" He received two acknowledgments, and disconnected. And leaned back to watch the show some more. "Should take her a while to get around to us, but we need to watch for scouts, Ruf."

"Indeed."

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Charley sat on the side of the lap pool, clad in her bikini, and stared at the comm unit. She then activated the phone mode, and tapped in a number. After a short wait, she said "Avalon", then paused, and then recited a long message, before hanging up. She set the comm aside and folded her hands in her lap, rocking slightly.

Dressed in a black, one-piece Olympic-style suit, Jen Paladin sat on the opposite side of the long, narrow, pool. "They might get there too soon, you know, UNIT can move pretty fast."

"That might be for the best, I really am worried about Ron. I could have just told UNIT about the Tempusite earlier, and they would have been all over the area, and they would have scared the Rani, too, but possibly without her exiting her TARDIS, which would have made the task more difficult."

The girl sighed, "Well, it's done, nothing else I can do now."

"Just one thing." Jen replied, and Charley looked at her quizzically, "Get your butt back in the water, we aren't done yet."

"Oh! Yes, Ma'am!"

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The Rani emerged from her TARDIS into a slight drizzle. Storm clouds flew rapidly past overhead. She was dressed for it, wearing a lightweight raincoat over her bush clothes. She surveyed her camp for any sign of disturbance, but found none. Turning back to the disguised TARDIS, she whistled. Five of the large humanoid creatures emerged, and immediately became more animated upon seeing the jungle around them. Two Spiders, one a tentacled, the other the spike armed kind, also emerged.

Addressing the latter, the Rani gave orders. "Go to the house, and report your arrival, so I can monitor what you see." As the two scuttled off, she turned to the others. "Form a perimeter around the camp, but stay close!" As they moved to comply, she reentered the TARDIS, emerging several minutes later with an item vaguely resembling a laptop computer, though with an odd number of keys, and symbols in an alien language.

Walking over to her jeep, she set the machine down on the hood, then turned it on. After letting it warm up, she entered several commands. A slight grin of anticipation gave way to a frown. "What! One of the containers has been moved! And someone was trying to dig down to another one! How did they find out?" Puzzlement dominated her face for a minute, but she suddenly shook it off. "No matter! I have enough of it, for my purposes, but...the moved one is at that house. And if Doctor Chosa is still alive, it means I can no longer use my Elizabeth Reithan identity. And it might still come in useful."

Ten minutes passed, as the Rani paced, considering her options. But eventually, she became annoyed. "What is taking my spies so long?" She returned to her computer, and entered more commands. "Nothing?! They've been deactivated, somehow!" She looked towards the distant house, a slight glow amidst the mist. "I really don't need this, but I cannot stand not knowing. Assemble!" She shouted, and her five humanoids returned. She gestured down the trail, "Get moving, we are going to see who is behind this." And her thoughts drifted towards one possibility that unnerved her. "_If __he_ _is here, I would be smarter just to leave. But I won't run from just the possibility!"_

Someone finding the Tempusite wasn't that hard to fathom, come to think of it, if they had found the other diggings, they might have used some device to scan for buried objects. It didn't mean the Doctor was about, it could be some lucky humans. "_Or unlucky, as the case may be."_ Another possibility was the smuggler who had originally hid the substance here, but he would have no reason to leave two behind. "_Unless he is laying a trap for whoever stole the rest. Well, I will have a surprise for him." _She followed her monsters as they moved down the trail, having to hurry to keep up with their long strides.

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Neither of the 'spiders' had seen death coming, one was impaled as soon as it crossed the top of the wall around the pool area, and the second cloven in half by a machete as it climbed over the balcony railing to enter Doctor Chosa's room, the only one with an open door.

"_One for Rufus, one for the Doc, my turn next, when they get past the traps..."_

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The Rani had moved up to directly behind her lead servant as they approached the archway into the pool area. Something in her head was trying to urge caution, and she usually listened to such messages, but tonight she was terribly anxious to get this over with.

Her eyes were on the ground, to pick her steps between the puddles of rainwater, when the first monster stooped and stepped into the arch. There was a sudden loud 'whack' and something splattered all over the front of the Rani's raincoat. Blood. She looked up, and her jaw dropped as she saw four pointed protrusions sticking out of the monster's back. "_A trap! I could have been killed!"_ (Actually untrue, if she had known it, the trap had been triggered by a concealed Rufus, who would not have endangered the Rani, or the plan.)

The Rani backed away, surprise and shock giving way to an angry snarl. The primitive nature of the trap may have emboldened her. It didn't preclude a well-armed enemy, but it diminished the possibility, in her mind. Her other creatures stepped up, sniffing the air and growling, regarding their dead comrade. They scented blood, and felt a need to shed more of it.

The Rani looked at one. "You! Go that way, around the house!" she pointed towards the southern side of the building, "You other three, that way, but move cautiously." she directed them around the pool wall towards the North, and fell in behind them. When they came to the patio gate, she motioned them to ignore it, and instead to circle the house.

The creature who had gone separately rounded the corner at the south end of the house, and suddenly stopped, sniffing the air. It smelled death, something small, but maybe worth eating. Using nose and eyes, it soon spotted a mound covered with dead grass next to the house. Getting down on it's knees, it pawed at it, and soon spotted raw meat, which it promptly snatched up. As soon as it did, something shot up the wall in front of it's face, and the creature followed the rope as it ran up the wall, and then shifted it's gaze to the original engine block for Shego's jeep, which was coming down...

The Rani vaguely heard the squeal of a rope running through a pulley, but the meaty _crunch _that followed was inaudible from the far side of the house, where she was entering the garden area, just behind her three servants, who spread out into a line. The lights in the house suddenly went dark, and she froze. It was near sunset, and with the storm, it was almost too dark for her eyes.

"Doctor Reithan, I presume?" The male voice seemed to emanate from all around her, and she, as well as her servants, looked around in confusion. "Well, have to say, ya got old DNAmy beat in the looks department, but if you're making monsters, then your beauty is really skin deep!"

The Rani frowned, she had no patience for this kind of behavior. "You have something I want, whoever you are, and I mean to have it!" A thought occurred to her, didn't Miss Possible have a partner, or something? If this was him, she might bargain..."_No! This is taking long enough, it has to end now!" _She looked towards where she expected the servant she had sent around the other side of the house to appear, but saw nothing. Then, the voice came again, but this time, more localized, in front of her and her minions.

"Excuse my manners, for not introducing myself. Ron Stoppable, Globe traveling hero, Monkey Master, and Smarty Mart Part-time Employee of the Month for May!" And just like that he stood in front of them, directly across one of the brick-lined gardens from the center monster. Dressed in black, twirling a short stick, and grinning like a loon.

The Rani blinked. Somehow this behavior reminded her of... "What are you, some kind of Buffoon?"

"To some, that is my nature, my essential Ronness, if you will. But when things get serious, so do I, my not-so-good doctor." If it occurred to the Rani she was being baited, the notion was buried by her rising frustration and anger. "Kill Him!" She shouted at the center monster.

Obediently, the Monster stepped forward. It would never have occurred to it to go around the garden, as the foot-high walls presented no obstacle to it. As it's foot descended onto the top of the bricks, Ron jumped nimbly back, as the monster experienced a new variant on the old 'step on the rake' gag. Except that what snapped up out of the soil as the bricks folded down under it's weight was not funny at all. Ron had only Charley's opinion that the Rani's monsters would be 'big', so he measured the wooden rod to place the sharp steel spike affixed to it at around six feet off the ground, and hoped the Rani wouldn't trot out any short monsters. Mind you, getting whacked in the face by the rod wouldn't have been fun, either, but Ron wanted a lethal effect. He didn't quite get it.

The spike struck the creature squarely in it's sternum, and penetrated it, but just barely, due to the thickness of bone. The creature stumbled back, wailing in pain, and tripped itself on the bricks attached to the shaft, falling almost on top of it's mistress, who barely dodged. It's two fellows turned to watch it's fall with their eyes, the one to it's right thus turning it's back to the house, and the garden doors. It suddenly screeched, as one of it's legs gave way beneath it. As it started to topple, Ron took two strides towards it, and the 'stick' in his hand suddenly became a sword, which he swung to meet the falling monster. And suddenly, said monster and it's head parted company, the head bouncing across the stone walk, while the rest toppled into the garden.

The creature wounded by the trap began to roar in anger and pain, and tore the spike out of it's chest, the self-inflicted agony only making it more enraged. It clambered to it's feet, breaking the wooden rod in two, and throwing both pieces of the trap to either side, just missing it's unwounded comrade in the process.

As the angry beast charged the boy, supported by it's comrade, the Rani incongruously began to think negotiation might have been the better idea. The transforming sword had been a shock, though she had seen such things before, however usually as some form of optical illusion. But when the boy began to glow blue, she really began to think the aggressive path had been the wrong one. And that discretion was probably the better form of valor. Showing no confidence that her two remaining beasts would triumph, she turned and ran. "_What have I gotten myself into, this time?!"_

Despite it's rage, the wounded monster skirted the garden, rather then step on the bricks again, or even into the soil. But Ron moved away from it, towards it's comrade, who had also taken the lesson to heart it seemed. As it pursued the boy, the monster failed to notice a dark figure darting out from the shadows of the doorway, any more then it's decapitated comrade had. Three razor sharp claws ripped across the hamstrings of it's right leg, and down it went.

Blazing blue from head to toe, Ron moved fluidly towards the third monster, trusting Rufus to have his back. The monster locked eyes with the boy, and stopped dead for just a moment, and was lost. If it ever had a chance at all, that is. Ron leaped and brought the Lotus Blade down in a diagonal slash from the monster's left shoulder towards the sternum, and got a good three feet along that path before the blade stopped. He ended up with his right shoulder against the monster's chest, and pushed back off from there, drawing the blade effortlessly with him. He hit the ground, spun counterclockwise, and drove the point of the blade through the mortally wounded creature's heart, just to be sure.

Rufus, meanwhile, dashed up his victim's back, using the tufts of long fur to aid him, not even waiting for the creature to fall flat. By the time it did, however, Rufus was to it's shoulders. Drawing a _Tanto_ that some kind person with foresight had equipped with a grip the mutated mole rat could get his claws around, he drove it point first into the back of the creature's neck, severing it's spine. The death spasm nearly threw him off, but he held on, then looked to Ron. Their eyes met, and two loud cries of "Booyah!" rent the night. Then Ron took off after the Rani.

Having a Time Lord's physiology had many advantages on Earth, not the least of which was more endurance then a normal human. No athlete herself, the Rani still made very good time up the path towards her camp, spurred on by occasional glances over her shoulder at something glowing blue back there, coming on fast. Some of these glances resulted in collisions with the local flora, so by the time she actually stumbled into the clearing, her face was scratched, her hair in a wild tangle, and her breath coming in short gasps. Stumbling to the door of her disguised timeship, she opened it, and stumbled inside, breathing a shaky sigh of relief.

Until the TARDIS _Moved_, the jolt staggering her. She turned panicked eyes to the door, and reached hurriedly out and slapped the Emergency Dematerialization control. Even as she did, her eyes widened, and she shouted aloud, "NO!!"

No longer glowing, Ron regarded the empty space from which the TARDIS had vanished. He ignored an insistent voice in his head that was screaming that he should have used the extra power he had been given to destroy the alien. Breathing slightly hard, he turned as he heard Rufus arriving. "Hey, buddy! The Rani got away, I guess we have to call Charley and give her the bad news, huh?" _Not our plan,_ He mentally replied to that other voice. "And, I guess we better go back and disarm all the traps we didn't need." He sounded more then a little despondent not to have seen some of them in action. "_Just when you want the bad guys to bring plenty of monsters, what happens?"_

"Indeed" Rufus replied, then turned towards the rising sound of approaching aircraft, "I believe UNIT is arriving, as well." Ron nodded, as he activated his Ronnunicator, "First things first."

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Two hours after the Rani's disappearance, Charley Cob was pacing Thundagirl's deck. Along with her three friends, she was clad in a robe, ready to be discarded for transit. Their armor and other gear was stacked ready to be donned. The problem was, there was nowhere to go, yet. A fact that was the subject of conversation between the girl, and Brigadier General Steadfast MacLaren. "No, the Rani hasn't reappeared on Earth anywhere, General, I'm quite sure."

"In other words, she may have gotten away, Scott free, thanks to your plan?"

"No, she hasn't gone. I'm certain she must have unloaded some of her own lab equipment when she started making those monsters, and she won't abandon that, I'm sure. What about the Tempusite? Did Ron give your engineers the diagram of the locations of the remaining two containers?"

"Yes, yes, that is all taken care of! We will recover those items as expeditiously as possible, that I can assure you. Now, what if the Rani packed her gear back aboard her TARDIS, planning to get the last Tempusite and leave Earth altogether?"

Charley winced, before replying, "Obviously, that's a possibility, but for some reason, I don't think so. It might have to do with the limitations of that Trainer TARDIS, I just don't know enough about..." the girl's voice trailed off, and her hands dropped, the comm unit falling to the deck. JJ's head snapped around. "No, not this soon, not again!" She lunged forward and caught Charley as she began to sag, picking her completely up and rushing down the ramp, the Reeders right behind her. "Get her clear of T-Girl**! **Is there anything metal in her robe pockets? Okay, should be safe to put her down here, no metal, just tarmac." JJ set the semi-conscious girl down, then hastily stepped away. "Ah, I wish I could hold her!"

"What's going on!" Jen Paladin came running up the path from the house. "What's wrong with her?"

"It's hard to explain, we just need to keep her away from anything metallic, even non-conducting metal, the energy is kind of weird. If she grounds, she doesn't hold the information she is getting, so it keeps repeating itself, over and over, until it takes. It could burn out her brain that way." Then she saw Charley was moving, trying to raise her head. "Wow! That was a short one, at least." They all closed in on the girl, who was trying to speak. "Give me Comm, need to tell General..." she managed, faintly.

"Oh, no! Charley, you need rest...Belle!" JJ snapped, as the girl handed Charley her still-live comm.

The dark girl tried to focus on the image of MacLaren, who had a concerned look on his face. "Miss Cob, are you all right?" The voice helped Charley focus, and she managed to reply, "No, but I know why we haven't seen the Rani yet, Ron may have scared her _too _much! If he really panicked her, she might have activated the Emergency Dematerialization Control on her TARDIS, and it doesn't work the same on a Trainer. Give me a moment..." JJ helped Charley sit up, rearranging the girl's robe as she did, more for distraction then need, she wasn't happy about the situation.

Blinking her eyes, Charley tried to get everything in focus, then returned her attention to the General. "Basically, a Trainer is supposed to be piloted by two people, an instructor, and a student, just like with an airplane." The General nodded, "They're also used for short exploratory trips, which might be dangerous. If something happens to the instructor, the standard procedure is for the student to hit the EDC. It immediately moves the Trainer the maximum distance it can go in one jump away from it's current location, broadcasts an automatic distress signals to Gallifrey, and _locks down_ the Trainer, until a proper code is entered in it's computer."

She sagged a little for a few seconds, before rallying. "Now, the Rani probably doesn't know the proper code, but she'll figure it out, and despite her specialization, it shouldn't take her too long, especially if she realizes that there is only one person out there to respond to that distress call."

Despite his displeasure, a slow smile appeared on Steadfast MacLaren's features. "Ah, and she wouldn't want _him_ to come to her rescue, would she? So, we have a waiting game, then? Very well, but the second you know she's back, I need to know, are we clear?"

"Yes, Sir. But you know, if we can find DNAmy's hideout before she comes back, we can be there waiting for her. But for that, we need some degree of coordination with Global Justice. Wade may find it, but we can use..."

MacLaren interrupted, "Yes, Yes! I see your point, but I will have to take it up with my superiors." he huffed, "And I will, immediately. I have other work to do, so remember your orders, young lady! MacLaren, out!" and he disconnected.

"Back to bed for you!" JJ spoke, as Charley sagged. "No argument, I just hate all the waiting! Anything could have happened by now!" Charley replied. Despite her vehemence, her voice faded as she spoke, and she passed out. "Give her to me." Jen spoke, and picked the girl up without the least strain. "Secure your ship, and let's get back to the house." She then headed off down the path, shortly followed by the others.

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Shego woke slowly, memories sorting themselves out, again by habit not opening her eyes until she remembered what she needed to. She was flat on her back, on a cold, flat surface, but something, not much, was cushioning her head. Her lower body and legs were warm, and she brushed her fingertips against one thigh, and felt cloth. Then she remembered. Cracking her eyelids slightly, she confirmed that she was back in the cell in the Rani's lair. She felt...fine, almost too fine, in fact, since she had recently given birth in such an odd manner. Then she remembered Kim, the way she last saw her, and opened her eyes wide.

She sat up, looking frantically around. She first spotted a trail of blood drops leading from the entrance to a few feet away from where she was now. She had her bush pants on, and she was..."_Huh?" _Several things occurred to her at once. First, there was no sign at all of..."_No, wait, stretch marks, but faint ones." almost_ no sign of her pregnancy, her breasts seemed normal, not swollen with milk, and her stomach as taut as she could want. Second, her skin had...color. Not green, but the normal skin tone she remembered from before the 'comet'. "_I wanted to be scary, and the scariest female images I knew then usually had chalk-white, or green skin, so I got a mix of both, but now that's gone. All those years tanning on the beach, liking not having to worry about a burn, but maybe subconsciously wishing..." _Then her thoughts jumped back to Kim. And it was suddenly _Deja vu_ time again.

"I thought you might be cold, you were shivering." The familiar voice, this time distorted by what sounded like chattering teeth. Shego spun to find the same scene that had greeted her the first time she had woken in this cell, a naked Kim Possible huddled against the wall, shivering. Except, she looked a lot better. Still painfully thin, she had better color, and clear eyes. She also showed no sign of her recent pregnancy, either, though with her knees drawn up to her chest, it was hard to tell. Then Shego's eyes locked onto the the hidden spot on the girl's chest. "Show me." She said, rather forcefully.

Kim blinked, then sort of half-smiled. Keeping her arms rather protectively crossed over her breasts, she straightened her legs enough for Shego to see her lower torso. Nothing, not even the faintest discoloration of skin, showed where the disease had been, all the excised skin apparently regrown, somehow. But Shego could see some faint stretch marks on the girl's abdomen, proof of her recent experience. When the girl shuddered suddenly, Shego stopped her examination. "You thought _I_ was cold, what about you?" She then noticed that what had cushioned her head were her sports bra and briefs. She got to her feet and began removing her pants. "What are you doing?" Kim asked, drawing her knees back up, and shivering again.

"Giving you some covering, of course! I can wear my underwear, I don't need as much insulation, with my higher body temperature." She tossed the pants at Kim, and bent to take up her briefs and don them. "Put those on!" Despite what she had said, she did feel cooler then she expected to.

"Umm, Shego..." Kim took the pants, and began pulling them on, "You don't seem as warm as you usually do, I think maybe that's changed, too." Shego stopped, sports bra half on, and then looked at the teen. "You might be right. What the hell happened to me?" She finished dressing, and looked around angrily. She walked over to the force field, and glared out. No spider on the wall, this time. She looked at her hands, and suddenly saw a hint of green, where the light from outside the cell struck the skin. Not in the skin, but sort of like a sheen overlaying it. And only at spots where the light illuminated her most strongly.

"Well, this isn't very convenient." Kim commented. Shego turned and muffled a snort of laughter as she saw the girl standing up, steadily, at least, holding Shego's pants up. Though something in her still cringed at the girl's emaciation, seeing her looking like the 'after' picture in a weight loss ad was still amusing. "How do you feel, Princess?"

"Weak, but not sick. No dizziness, no nausea since I woke up, hungry, for certain. I mean, I was able to drag you away from the...my blood, and dress you..." she blushed, "Sorry, sort of awkweird, isn't it?"

Shego raised an eyebrow, "Understate, much? Now, the question is, what to do about our situation."

"We break out, find our children, and beat the Rani, what could be simpler?" Kim replied, matter-of-factly.

Shego's eyebrows almost disappeared into her bangs. "Wha..._Our_ children? What are you talking about!? Whatever abominations she bred in us??" Her face clouded up with rage, "Are you mad, Possible?!"

Kim seemed shocked at the response, but then she slowly nodded, "You didn't figure out what she was doing, did you?"

Shego mouth worked, but at first nothing came out, but finally, "Figured out? Figured out what? That we were raped? That there are two...half-human little monsters out there? What?" she snapped, as Kim shook her head.

"They aren't half-human, Shego, they're fully human. She combined _our _DNA to make those babies, and used that machine to pass on all our skills to them!" She paused, "I think she implied that they would acquire all our skills at the same age we did, so they would only need a little practice, maybe, to use them fully."

Shego stood blinking, putting all the pieces together in her head. She remembered the question about when she had started walking, as if she would actually know. It made sense, the Rani was just trying to experiment on skill transference, that was what the whole thing was about. Not monster making, just another genetic experiment. She remembered all the memories she had experienced. "How long were we in that machine?"

Kim shook her head, "I don't know, she might have accelerated things a bit. It doesn't matter!" A fierce look came to the girl's eyes, "Those are _our_ children, whether you agree or not, and I am not letting that _Bitch_ have them, and raise them!"

Shego stood there, mouth agape. "_She's baaack."_ Then she snapped her mouth closed. "Okay, until someone finds frog DNA in them, I agree. We get them back, and that bitch gets a toasting!"

Moving with as much dignity as one could while holding one's trousers up, Kim walked over to Shego, and clasped hands with her. "Spankin!"

A sudden worried look came over Shego's face. "Uh, Kim, if they got all the skills I remembered, and we do get them back, and raise them..." Kim waited, expectantly, "Well, from sixteen years, four months, until eighteen, solitary confinement might be a good idea." Kim blinked, confused for a moment, "In fact, if you aren't concerned about the legality all that much, maybe nineteen or twenty?" Shego finished, half apologetically.

Finally getting her drift, Kim's cheeks began to turn bright red. "Uh, sixteen years, four months?" Shego nodded, sheepishly, "'kay, I will try and remember that, but it might not work out that way, they might start soon..." She clapped a hand to her mouth, "Gah!"

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Doctor Betty Director was managing from long practice to keep a polite, attentive look on her face as Steadfast MacLaren 'revealed' the existence and nature of the Rani to her, expressly forbade her to share the knowledge with anyone, and requested her assistance in trying to track down DNAmy's lair.

"I understand, Brigadier, and will certainly put all available resources on this." "_Which they already have been, ever since my meeting with Charley." _"And I appreciate the briefing." "_Would have appreciated it more...ah, why bitch about things that won't change!" _"I will inform you immediately if we have any success."

The call over, she buzzed Abby. When her aide walked in, she went right to business. "What word on the forensics from DNAmy's Middleton home?"

"Definitely signs of a struggle, and a subsequent break-in by someone with very good skills. Found some hair from Kim Possible, looks like something hot sliced off a couple of inches from her ponytail, we also found her Kimmunicator, under the couch, it looked like someone had melted it. As to the break-in, like I said, someone was real good, we had to look hard for the signs." (The 'evidence' discovered having been planted by Wade Load, with the aid of a small robot of his own design.)

Betty nodded. "Shego. How she became suspicious, who knows? Probably something on the criminal grapevine. And she apparently did manage to track down DNAmy's hideout. Damn! Do we have anything yet?" When Abby shook her head, an old Celtic curse popped out of Betty's mouth, followed by a blush. "Sorry, but you really shouldn't have taught me that one."

Abby just grinned. And the intercom buzzed. Sighing, Doctor Director answered it. "Yes, Grace?"

"Director Bailiwick is on the video link, Doctor, says it is urgent." Betty frowned, "Put him through, Grace." She turned to face the video screens. After a few seconds, Director Howard Bailiwick, head of Global Justice's South Pacific/Southeast Asia Division came on. Fiftyish, balding slightly, with a face that had been in the sun too much and hair bleached by same to nearly white, Bailiwick was an Australian, third generation law enforcement, though possessing the highest status yet in his family.

"Anyone but Abby there? No? Then G'day Betts, how bad are things going for you these days?"

"About the usual, stop trying to make yourself feel better at my expense, you old 'roo-wrangler."

"I never, ever, wrangled 'roos, Betts, just sheilas, used to have a nice little herd of them." His face sobered, "Business, Betts, and not good business, either. Sending you an image, hope you haven't eaten anything greasy." A picture popped up on another screen, of a badly burned man wearing what looked like the remains of a World Wide Evil Empire uniform. "This was taken on Santa Isabel, in the Solomons, about an hour ago. A large explosion, or series of explosions, was being investigated, and appears to have been an underground auxiliary WWEE base. No clear idea how it happened, though, could have been an accident, but then again?"

"Our mystery bomber? Certainly could have been. Targeting WWEE now? Sheldon won't like that at all, I hope he doesn't think we're behind it. But he might, so better alert the CEC, Howard."

"Ah, leave me the easy part, nice." He chuckled, "Fair is fair, this's my patch. And I'll notify you what our boys find at the scene. They're on their way up to help the locals, now. Later, Betts."

"Well, well, interesting day so far, to say the least. UNIT asks for help, and our bomber hits a bigger target." Betty dropped into her chair. "And the CEC may have caught wind of the rumors that someone may want to remove Global Justice altogether, in favor of SHIELD and, well, those other guys."

"Do they think SHIELD wants to take over our collection of loonies?"

"They don't care what we want or think, they just want to 'streamline' things. And besides, SHIELD wouldn't mind inheriting our assets, I'm sure. Provided they get first crack at them, anyway." Betty gazed at the ceiling, slowly turning in her chair, "I wonder if Charley Cob had anything to do with UNIT's change of heart? I get the feeling I may be underestimating her. At the same time, I agree with our doctors, she's showing signs of burnout."

"Takes too much on herself, that one does." Abby commented.

"I really don't think she can help herself, Abby, I really don't."

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"Do you remember a voice talking to you, Kim, when we were in that machine?" Shego was fiddling with her hair, wondering how to cut it after the Rani's 'de-braiding'. She was standing by the force field, while Kim sat opposite her.

Kim looked reluctant to answer at first, but after a soft sigh, she did. "I thought I heard someone ask if I would save you, and I said yes." She looked up to see Shego's reaction to the words, and was surprised to see her just nodding, thoughtfully. Then she looked at Kim, and grinned slightly, "Yeah, I heard you answer it." Kim's eyes widened, "I don't know how to explain it, but I heard that voice when I got my powers, it asked what I wanted to be, what I needed to be, but I didn't remember it, afterwards."

"You mean, Doctor Morrisey was right, you basically got what you asked for, power wise?"

"Yep, I got what my fourteen year old brain wanted, to be mean and scary, so I could protect the boys from bullies. Question is, what did I get this time?" She looked at her hands, "Put this off long enough, time to find out. Don't try catching me if I faint, Kimmie." Grimacing in anticipation, Shego called her plasma. Nothing happened, but she felt the power was there, just different. Muttering an expletive that made Kim blush, Shego began pacing. "_Okay, go back to the first time, how did the power first manifest? Wait, no, how did I condition it to respond to me? I changed it, over time, to something that suited my temperament, triggered by...doesn't matter, I have to get back to the basics, the power isn't conditioned anymore, have to just let...it...come..."_ And it did.

"Whoa, that's different!" Kim exclaimed. "It looks, uh, purer?"

"What, it looked dirty before? No, I get it Princess, and you're right, it's clearer, and the shade a little less, sickly, I'm going to say, this really looks like emerald." Then Shego's eyes widened, "And, it doesn't hurt! No pain at all. The voice said, I never really accepted the power before, I never gave it time or opportunity to become truly mine, I think. So, the Rani knows how to block the power, but not me!" She continued to look at the flames flickering around her hand. Then her eyes narrowed, "I wanted it faster." She snapped her wrist, and fired a blast at the back wall of the cell. And it was appreciably faster, barely a streak of light.

"Oh, boy, don't want to have to dodge that!" Kim exclaimed. Shego nodded, half-listening. Then she extended her hand. "Let's see..." and she fired an extended stream of plasma, maintaining it as she scored the floor, wall, and the ceiling before she lost it. She walked over and examined what she'd done. The stream had cut a gouge roughly two and a half inches deep for most of it's length into both the cement floor, and the solid stones of the wall. But, to her surprise, it wasn't hot at all. "Huh"

She walked back to Kim and flared her hand, "Does this seem as hot as it used to be, to you? I could never tell with my own flame." The girl reached out her hand gingerly, but then less cautiously, eyes widening in curiosity. "No, no heat at all, that I can feel." Then, almost accidentally, she touched the plasma. Which promptly flowed down her own arm, almost to the elbow before she broke contact, and jumped back.

Both of them stared at each other for nearly a minute. Then Kim tentatively reached out and touched the flaming hand again. And again, the plasma flowed along her skin, but this time she didn't break contact, as it ran up her arm, and spread across her torso and head. Then down across her abdomen, and beneath the baggy bush pants, until it covered her bare feet.

Shego looked her up and down in astonishment for a moment, then smirked, "You look good in green Kimmie, you should try it more...Oh, Crap!" She broke contact, staring down at the pants Kim wore, which now had several holes in them. She knelt and studied one, to Kim's barely suppressed discomfort. "They seemed to be smoking, for a sec, but there's no scorching around the edges, at all." She turned and returned to the gouge that she had made in the floor. "Not enough debris, some stuff obviously disintegrated completely, the rest wasn't harmed." She stood, ignited her hand, and gingerly pressed a fingertip to a spot on her sports bra. After three minutes, she pulled it away, leaving no damage, whatsoever. "Okay, this obviously should have come with an instruction manual."

"Maybe it responds to your will? I mean, the power talked to you, as if it had sentience? Maybe your will now controls it, and it does what's necessary to carry out your desires?" Kim speculated. She was crouched against the wall, not wanting to sit on the cold concrete.

"You mean, I wanted you naked? Nope, not flying here, Princess. I was trying to burn my bra, at least for those last few seconds. I did want the power to be more precise, though. How precise can that be, though? Incinerating one molecule, and leaving the next one unharmed? No, that would be too much, but maybe something along those lines. Can't harm myself, or anything I'm wearing? Good, if true."

"But, why did it spread to me, I felt it, kinda, flowing through me, not just on the surface, like it was examining me. Shego, you healed me, you realize that?"

Shego sighed, then nodded, "Yeah, I think so. I think we healed each other, somehow. When I told the voice, or whatever, that I wanted to 'save' you, it said that had to be shared, and so it asked you. I...in my case, you probably sped up my healing, it's normally kind of fast. Wait, let's try something!" She scanned the cell for something suitable, and her eyes finally lit on the metal framework for the forcefield. Examining it, she found a fairly sharp edge. "Okay, here goes." Kim, standing again, winced as Shego dragged her palm across the edge. "Ow! Okay, this should do it, grab my hand, Kim!"

Kim did so, and winced as she felt pain in her own palm. But her eyes and Shego's both widened as green energy suddenly flicked across the bleeding abrasion on Shego's palm, and it vanished without a trace. "Whoa, that's not bad." Shego commented.

"Yeah, except I felt the pain from it on my hand, as it healed." Kim replied.

Surprised, Shego nodded, "Okay, not perfect, but..." She frowned, "Still, all that healed on you, and what happened to our, um, milk? Unless it was used up somehow in the healing?"

Kim shrugged. "No idea, and it might be time to drop this until later, and see if you can get us out of here with your new, improved, powers?"

"I will hold off on calling them improved, for now, Kimmie, but you're right, time to blow this pop stand." She went to examine the Forcefield framework, then backed away from it and faced a section of bare wall. After a moment's thought, she made a fist, surrounded it with plasma, and punched the wall. Hard. "Shego!" But she appeared unharmed. She then formed her hand into a _nukite_ or spearhand, fingers stiff thumb bent to support the forefinger, and again struck the wall, tips first. Her hand penetrated to the middle knuckles before stopping. "Hmm, nice." she murmured, then turned again to the frame. "No idea what kind of energy runs through this, Pumpkin, so you go to the back of the cell, okay?"

After the girl complied, Shego tried a ranged approach first. One blast didn't accomplish much, but the plasma stream darkened the metal, before she had to shut it off and catch her breath. Losing patience, she charged her hand, formed a _nukite_ again, and struck where the darkened metal met the stone wall. There was a sharp _craack!_ That hurt her ears, and her hand went numb for a moment, then pain shot through her finger joints as she recoiled. Then she felt Kim's hands on her shoulders, and heard the girl hiss in pain, but almost immediately, the pain in her hand subsided.

Looking at the now distorted frame, she was just wondering whether to try it again when she heard a skittering noise, and one of the Rani's pets appeared in the entryway. It was one of the tentacled spiders, and as soon as it saw the two, it swung to face them, and fired both tentacles. Shego dodged left, and realized too late that Kim wouldn't have seen the spider because Shego blocked her vision. A terrible scream wrenched from the girl's throat as her body spasmed, and she crashed to the floor. Rage filled Shego's eyes, and her left hand shot out, the plasma forming and leaving her fingers in the blink of an eye, and suddenly three detached legs were all that remained of the creature.

Rushing to Kim, Shego wrapped both hands in plasma and took hold of the girl. The green energy flowed over her, and a sharp, blinding pain blossomed in the back of Shego's skull. But she held on, and it soon subsided. Other, smaller pains, from other impact points, were easy to ignore. After a few minutes, Kim's eyes flickered open. "Sorry, Kimmie, I should have taken you down with me, didn't realize you couldn't see it."

After a few moments, the girl croaked, "I hope that's the last time I feel that, seriously!"

Shego grinned half-heartedly, "Okay, tough girl, on your feet, it appears we now have the run of the place."

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Please Read and Review.

Also would like some input on Rufus. Already hinted that he might revert to his old self, but retain the 'changes' in his DNA. Think it would be best to have him do so, or let him stay as he is, now, with all the problems he would probably have? Really haven't decided, myself. So would appreciate opinions.


	10. Freedom?

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Okay, straight to the **Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible, or any other characters from that show, or any other media that I may reference in my stories.

This chapter might get a little rough in spots.

* * *

Once again emerging from the cell area into the main passage, Shego cautiously checked both directions before signaling Kim to join her. "Well, we don't know where either of the doors flanking this one lead, or the right hand one opposite us. Odds are, the exit from this place is uphill, so that is probably up this passage to the left. And that leaves to the right still a mystery."

Kim gestured directly across the passage. "The babies were in the central room, last we saw them." Her priorities were obvious.

"Yeah, and they will still be there for a while, I think. Let's explore before we burden ourselves with them." Kim frowned at the 'burden'. "Kimmie, can we fight effectively if we're carrying two babies? We need to make sure we aren't going to be jumped, before we try and take them out." The frown remained, but the girl nodded. "Okay, let's try to the right, first, and look in that doorway." The no longer pale thief suited her actions to her words, moving along the wall to the right, and peering into the next opening. Kim kept a ten foot distance between them, and kept up a constant visual sweep of the rear. At least the air in the central passage seemed warmer, somehow, an important point when one is half-naked, and already weak.

Apparently all the side doors had the same structure, and Shego moved cautiously down the short hallway towards the room at the opposite end. She saw crates and boxes of various sizes stacked within, and soon discovered that the single large chamber the hallway opened into was in fact just a storeroom. And one box drew her attention almost immediately. "Well, Kimmie, I think our wardrobe problems are over with." The box was already open, and just half full, but Shego reached in and pulled out a plastic bag containing folded green cloth. "Surgical greens, Princess, catch!" The girl actually had to brace herself to insure the lightweight package didn't unbalance her, she felt so weak. And using both hands to make the catch also resulted in a sitch familiar to her, though usually suffered by Ron. Shego's smirk didn't help, as Kim flamed red again.

Pulling out another set of greens, Shego pulled them on over her underwear. "No sign of footwear, I'm afraid, Kimmie." Perusing some of the other boxes, Shego's eyes widened, "Still hungry, Princess? Got some canned Vienna sausage here. Also some crackers." She grinned, "Kimmie want a cracker? Gah!, sorry I said that!" Kim had pulled on a set of greens with obvious relief, but still had the bush pants slung over one shoulder. Responding to Shego's jibe with a mere rolling of the eyes, she zeroed in on the food crate.

Twenty minutes later, keeping wary eyes fixed on the doorway, the two had polished off a fair amount of food. Taking so much time might not have been smart, but at the moment, the need for a full stomach overrode common sense. Then something occurred to Shego. "Hey, Possible, how did you know that Reithan was a Time Lord?"

"Oh, that drug she gave me to knock me out didn't do a good job. Maybe the stuff already in my system fouled it up, I don't know. Anyway, I was sort of conscious the whole time she was bringing us here. And the sound a TARDIS makes isn't something you forget easily." She didn't mention the curious pawing she received from one of the Rani's pets in transit, before it was ordered to behave itself. "The Rani's sounds a bit smoother, and definitely quieter than the Doctor's." Shego nodded, "Probably takes better care of it, or it's newer, doesn't really matter, I just wonder where she is, now."

(In point of fact, working her way through the complete vocabulary of Tetrap profanity, while trying to enter a working code to unlock her TARDIS)

"Okay, break time is up, let's get on with this, before she turns up." Shego led the way again, out into the main passage, and to the right again, downslope. After thirty or so feet, she vaguely saw a wall cutting off the passage, but there was an entrance on either side, roughly forty feet ahead. "T-junction ahead, Kimmie." She checked over her shoulder, and wasn't surprised to see Kim's eyes lingering on one particular entrance. "I know, Princess, we'll be back for them, I promise."

Approaching the right side entrance, Shego first looked across and down the opposite one, and saw a dim light coming from it. Looking down the near one, she saw the same thing, a distant light source, and not a very bright one. She slipped into the passage and advanced cautiously. She impulsively tried her new plasma as a light source, and found it marginally better than her old. She didn't keep it on long, of course, only a few seconds, to avoid making a target of herself.

When she reached the end of the passage, she estimated it's length at just over one hundred feet. It ended in what she first dismissed as just an empty chamber, until she noticed a square outline in the dust. "Ah! Here's where she parks her TARDIS, Kimmie, which means she isn't home, at the moment." She looked around. "Wish there was a way to set up an alarm, or something. Still, we should be able to hear her when she arrives, quieter model TARDIS, or not."

They returned to the T-junction, then headed down the opposite passage, Kim again trailing Shego. As they moved down the passage, Shego began to smell something strong. The Rani's beasts. Then, at the sixty foot mark, she suddenly was hit with _noise_! A cacophony of roars, screeches, and other animal-like noises. It was so loud, she recoiled physically. Behind her, Kim stopped, then checked the rear quickly, before returning her attention to Shego. The woman backed up, looking at the walls and ceiling. She spotted something, and gestured for Kim to come closer.

What she had found appeared to be a row of small metal triangles, running up both walls, and across the ceiling. "I don't know how, but these are generating some form of sound-suppression field, Princess. Step across this line, but be prepared." Kim did as instructed, but didn't stay long, stepping quickly back with her hands slapped over her ears. "Ouch! There must be a _lot_ of those creatures down there!"

"Yep. The Rani's, and maybe Amy's, as well. Ah, Hell, I need to see if there's one of these barriers down the other passage. If there is, we _won't_ be hearing the Rani when she comes back. Meet me at the junction, Okay?" When Kim nodded, Shego took off at a jog. Kim followed more slowly, and stopped at the junction, leaning back against the wall, facing up the main passage. "_Weak, but I'm going to find those little girls, they're not going to be the Rani's pets, or lab rats, or whatever. Are we on our own? I know Ron and Wade won't stop looking for me, but how can they find me here, wherever I am?"_

Shego's return brought her out of her musings. "Yep, there's one down that way, too. The TARDIS returning isn't going to warn us."

"Well, we still have some rooms to explore, shall we?"

"Might as well, didn't bring a deck of cards."

0000000000

Charley Cob was out of things to distract her from her worries. Since her latest interaction with the Gallifreyan Matrix, her swimming lessons had been put on hold, so she could rest up, as well as any other physical activities. The other girls were being taught chess by Sam in the house, but for some reason, Charley couldn't get interested in the game. So she was currently sitting outside, soaking up some sun, and trying not to give in to her doubts about her plan.

Thinking of her swimming lessons did cause her eyes to stray guiltily to her bikini, still hanging from a short clothesline near the pool entrance, where she had left it to dry after her last lesson, the night Ron had encountered the Rani. She usually was very tidy, and leaving something like that undone was uncharacteristic of her. But, she just couldn't seem to gather the energy to just go over and take it down and back to her room.

And it wasn't the Matrix's effect on her that was holding her back. With things so very uncertain about Kim, Shego, and the Rani, she was beginning to fear doing anything, even the most normal of things. Almost as if she didn't want to draw attention to herself by moving. Reminding people that it was her plan in operation, having them look to her for reassurance, scared her.

She was drawn out of her pessimistic thoughts by the appearance of Jen Paladin, approaching from the direction of the outdoor firing range. Dressed in cut-offs and a sports bra, the tall mercenary was hauling two five-gallon buckets, which from the strain showing in her muscles, were quite heavy. Ben and Roy floated alongside her. She saw Charley, and came over, setting the two buckets down before dropping into another chair. Charley saw that the buckets were both full of spent bullets.

"Those little guys are pretty useful, this was a lot easier then digging up the bank, and sifting the dirt to retrieve the bullets." Jen commented.

Charley grinned, "Yeah, well, I'm glad they have something to occupy themselves, I..." And she was then interrupted by a loud shout from the direction of the workshop. "Who the Hell has been messing with these Guns!?" There then followed a string of nine words you shouldn't say to a Nun. Both women jumped halfway to their feet, looking at the figure approaching them.

About Five Eight, and nearly 230 pounds, most of it muscle, "Abe" Aberdeen was the mercenaries' personal gunsmith and armorer. Thick red hair, with a matching beard and mustache, crowned his head. Handsome he was not, with a very large nose dominating his face, and too much intensity in his blue eyes for most people's comfort. The fact his clothes always looked as if he slept in them, and a preference for ratty looking, open toed, sandals didn't help his appearance. And in a temper, as he was now, his forehead had furrows in it that looked like they could hold the pencil that was stuck behind his right ear, or two or three spare ones.

"Aberdeen, what are you talking about?" Jen asked the irate gunsmith.

"Your new weapon system, that's what I'm talking about! Someone has been at it, making changes! Come see for yourself!" And he spun about and stormed back to the workshop, with both Jen and Charley trailing behind.

Once inside, they examined the three-barreled monster Abe had been building for Jen. They easily noticed that several metal parts of the recoil system were now blue, instead of their original color. And that a short magazine was inserted into the lower, .50 caliber, weapon. "I don't know who did that, but it's fixed!" Abe pointed at the magazine, "And it can't hold more than five rounds, for certain, half what I promised you!" Charley found another piece of the blue metal on the bench, and began examining it. "This is odd, it's lighter then steel, and I think this is it's natural color."

Abe took the metal from her, hefting it, "I have never seen metal that had this shade of blue as it's 'natural' color, young lady. It has a solid 'feel' to it, though." He frowned as he looked more closely at the piece. Jen, meanwhile, was looking at the magazine. "This has a hinged bottom on it, Abe." She flicked a catch, and the bottom fell open.

"Hmm? Well, what would that be for? Not for replacing the spring, for certain."

Jen suddenly stood up, eyes widening. "There _is_ no spring inside, Abe. Just a minute." She walked over to the ammo vault, while Charley tried to get a look up into the magazine, but there wasn't enough clearance between the bottom and the bench. Jen returned with a box of fifty-caliber ammunition. Opening it, she took one round, and placing it below the magazine, pushed it up into the slot. When she took her hand away, the bullet didn't fall out. As Abe blinked in surprise, she then pushed five more rounds into the magazine. Watching the gunsmith's dumbfounded face, she then began to insert more. At twelve, the bottom abruptly snapped shut. "Well, I guess she's full."

Abe's jaw worked for several seconds with nothing coming out. Charley simply looked at the weapon with a puzzled look, not about what had been done, or even who had done it, but why? "What the devil kind of trickery is this?!" Abe finally spat out, "How did you do that?" He examined the bullets still in the box to see if they were some kind of trick.

"Don't look at me, I think some friends of Charley's have been at work here." Jen looked to the girl for confirmation. She shrugged, "Only answer I can think of, but why would they?" Then she looked at Jen, "And is that all they did?"

The mercenary studied the weapon a moment longer, then nodded, "Only one way to find out." She unclamped the assembly from the bench and lifted it. "Hmm, didn't make it that much lighter, I...wait a sec." She seemed to be trying to elevate the weapon, then depress it, but it stayed level, though she had no trouble traversing it from side to side. "Huh? How is this supposed to work, it isn't much good...Hold it, let me try something." She put the weapon down, and began putting on the support harness. Abe helped her settle it properly. She then lifted the weapon again, and took hold of the two handgrips, one besides the fifty-caliber's breech, which included the trigger for the bigger weapon, and one on the opposite side, at the midpoint of the system, with the trigger for the twin-linked P90s. With both grips firmly grasped, she had no trouble moving the weapon around as she pleased. "I think that I know what's going on here, let's head out to the range."

Despite his confusion, Abe didn't forget the basics. "I f you are planning to fire that, you should put a blouse on, or those straps are going to rub your shoulders raw."

"One shot is all I need to test my theory, Abe, don't worry." She then led the others out to the range. When they arrived, she gave Abe a sheepish look. "Eh, you were probably right, bare skin wasn't a good idea." She ran a finger under the straps over here shoulders, which were leaving red indentations in her skin. "Better get this over with." She took a well-braced stance, and leveled the weapon at the target. A small red dot appeared in the center of it. And then she fired, as Charley covered her ears. The weapons muzzle barely seemed to jump. Abe, studying the weapon, not the target, looked pleased, but puzzled. "Now that didn't look like much at all."

"No, didn't feel like much, either. All the blue parts are in line, I notice. I think something is running through them, something that keeps them aligned horizontally, unless I have the grips squeezed. Oh, there's a switch here." She fiddled with something below the rear trigger, and suddenly the gun drooped in her hands. "And that switched it off." She leveled the weapon again, and fired. The recoil this time was substantial, but she rode it well, as if from experience. "Ah, just like the last test firing. So, someone improved the recoil suppression, and gave me a fixed, reloadable magazine. Did you see if your ammo hopper for the 5.7mm ammo was messed with?" Abe shook his head, "Not yet. Now, let's get that off you, before you cut off circulation to something important."

The removed harness had left some notable marks on the woman. "Okay, I don't often make such a mistake, but no harm done." Jen said, while rubbing at some of the marks, "Let's go back to the workshop, and check the hopper."

But they never made it there. Belle Reeder ran out of the house and called to them, "Guys, come here, quick! There's something on the TV you should see, about Kim Possible!"

* * *

It wasn't what one wanted to come home to after a successful morning. Anne Possible had finally gotten 'back in the saddle' at the hospital, performing her first surgical procedure since Kim's disappearance. There was no choice in the matter, as far as she was concerned, the patient was one who she had personally invested a great deal of time persuading them that the surgery was the right thing to do. She had been up at four, and at the hospital by six. The surgery and post-op procedures had kept her there until ten-thirty, and she had returned home tired but happy with the whole matter. Until she turned on the television.

Nearly two months ago, now, Kim had taken two women to find and talk to Shego. All four had then ended up going to Go City, to deal with some kind of white slavery ring involving an orphanage there. And the next thing Anne knew, she was flying there in response to reports that her daughter had been badly injured by some villain running some kind of SM 'show', apparently involving teenagers as victims, and younger children were somehow involved.

She had been relieved on arrival to be told the actual physical damage was minor, but shocked to discover it's nature. Though Kim's 'crucifixion' had been symbolic rather then literal, It was still a disturbing image to Anne. Her daughter's hands had been nailed to a wooden panel, with two wooden pegs under her armpits actually supporting her body weight. Her positioning had been in the classic pose, however. Though physically not too badly hurt, psychologically, Kim had been a complete wreck when Anne first saw her, even with significant sedation.

And then the Reverend Willward and his sister had arrived. Anne hadn't paid much attention to the scandalous details of their father's death, or how badly shaken his spiritual empire had been. She and her family preferred a simple church service, not the big rallies and stadium shows that some large religious groups seemed to think were necessary.

Sarah Willward had been very nice, but then so had her brother, at first, all sincere concern for Kim, requesting to speak with her, which Anne couldn't seem to muster any reason to forbid. But, minutes later, Sarah had begun to frown during their friendly chat, and insisted on going into Kim's room, where they found the Reverend manhandling the terrified girl, and saying horrible things to her. If it weren't for Anne's immediate concern, that Kim's IV had been torn out, she might have given the Reverend quite a lesson in what violence maternal protective instincts could generate. Not that his own sister was any too gentle. She had been an MP in the US Army, and knew how to subdue someone, forcibly.

After Hospital security had dragged the man away to await the police, Anne had held Kim for what seemed to be hours, as the girl told her everything that had happened to her, how she had gotten herself into the whole mess, which subsequently turned out not to be entirely true.

Anne had found herself torn over the simple question of whether or not to convince her daughter not to give up, with the risk that it would lead to greater harm in the future, and the desire to let her take her fears to heart, and turn away from her dangerous life, and be safe. Of course, in the end, she did the right thing. Letting Kim's spirit be crushed, even slightly, was something she would probably not have been able to live with.

Any hope that her daughter's ordeal would be kept from the public died the next morning, when a blurred video clip of her being menaced by Shego began to appear on the Internet, and subsequently on TV news programs, albeit edited for content. The possible existence of a more detailed, and longer clip had been rumored ever since. Federal and Police authorities had requested that any such video be turned over to them, since it constituted evidence in the ongoing investigation. But it was nearly inevitable, according to some, that it would instead go to the highest bidder behind the scenes. And now, apparently, it had.

The program Anne tuned into unintentionally was going to be a debate between legal experts concerning the ongoing arguments on whether or not the villain, Armand Macheles, had 'controlled' his audience, or merely 'influenced' them, and whether or not their attendance had been voluntary or not. But first, the commentator moderating the debate was offering a summary of what the tape would show.

"We, of course, cannot show the uncensored version of the clip on this station, and even with the traditional pixelation, or 'blurring', many parts are still cannot be shown. There is no audio accompanying the clip, but an audio recording is believed to be in the hands of the United States Attorney's office, which has been charged with supervising this case, since local Prosecutors are believed to be compromised. So, with apologies for those who prefer seeing things with their own eyes, I will merely be describing the content of the recording, rather then displaying it."

"To begin, the clip shows Armand Macheles, who is claimed by many concerned to have had some form of 'psychic' power, on the stage of the old Dunn Theater, in Bayborough, the western district of Go City. The Dunn was converted to a dinner theater nine years ago, but this failed to save the institution, which closed it's doors four years later. It has since belonged to a holding company owned in turn by Macheles, and was just one of the venues he used for his shows."

"In the middle of a spiel to his audience, Macheles is interrupted by Shego, who has since been credited with assisting the Federal authorities in closing Macheles down, though they also say that her actions here were premature, and unnecessarily endangered many people. In any event, she is clearly angry at Macheles, approaching him with her hands enveloped by her green 'plasma', and clearly shouting at him. But suddenly, she stops, her plasma vanishes, and she suddenly seems to be unfocused, actually acting as if drugged."

"Macheles then summons two of his female employees, also indecently dressed, and they are accompanied by two female minors. They remove Shego's clothing, making a show of it, and without resistance. Throughout this, Shego seems confused, which seems to support those who claim 'control' as Macheles' power. After a brief speech to his audience, Macheles makes the most shocking revelation of the evening." Even in the absence of any illustration accompanying the narration, Anne winced.

"A revolving panel turns to show teen heroine Kim Possible, naked, and apparently crucified, though on a flat panel, rather then a cross. She is obviously in great pain, but aware of her surroundings. It is at this point that prosecutors say that Macheles is not controlling Shego, since it takes considerable time and coaxing to get her to approach Kim Possible, though with what intent is unknown."

"At this point, out of frame, an individual identified as Jennifer Paladin enters the stage, and orders Macheles to cease. It is to be noticed that at this point, Shego stops her approach to Kim Possible, and in fact backs away from her. Macheles' bodyguard, one time pro prospect Anthony Belacost, AKA Anthony Bell, AKA Anthony Belk, steps up besides his boss, confronting Miss Paladin. Another point in the prosecutors' favor is the fact that Macheles apparently could not control, or even influence, Miss Paladin, so he and his bodyguard resorted to violence, both drawing handguns. In the case of Belacost, two handguns at once."

"It is during this exchange of shots, in which both men are killed without firing their own weapons, that the camera is dislodged from whatever place it was secured, and falls to the floor amidst the audience, who at this point tried to flee the premises, only to find all entrances secured by Federal Agents and Marshals. There is no more relevant content on the video, before the camera is discovered by an FBI agent several minutes later." As he turned to address one of the debating groups, Anne switched the TV off.

Her face was angry, yet tears ran down her face. "_Please, don't let that be the last image of my little girl that people see! After all she has done, why couldn't they give her some consideration? Most of those people aren't even being charged with serious crimes, they are just trying to save their reputations! Oh, God, if...when she gets back, how will she deal with this?" _The ringing of the doorbell interrupted her thoughts. She scowled at the door, then stood and marched angrily towards it. Had a reporter, of any kind, been on her doorstep, what happened next might have become R-Rated for violence. But it was no reporter. To her astonishment, it was Wade Load.

0000000

Jen Paladin stalked slowly away from her house, arms folded across her chest, a scowl on her face. She remembered all too well the events just described on the TV. And those that weren't...

"_We are waiting for Special Agent in Charge Deal to get here, he should be here in five minutes or so." The voice came through Jen's cellphone, her only means of coordinating with the Federal/Global Justice Task Force hastily assembled for this raid. The Mercenary was already running short of patience, the fact that it had been Wade Load who had directed them to the Dunn, instead of Kim and Shego, already had her thinking that somebody wasn't being a team player, and she had a good idea it was Shego. "Only interested in avenging her friend." she thought._

_She peered through the side curtains out at the stage, and saw what was about to happen._

_Shifting her .45 in it's holster, she nodded at Sam, who gave her a grin, and a thumb's up, before heading for the backstage area. Because of the low quality opposition expected, the shorter merc was armed with her Old West replica weapons, prominently featuring a double-barreled, 12 gauge, coach gun. Holding it left handed, close to her body, allowed her right hand to shift from that weapon's foregrip to cross-draw the short-barreled Colt Peacemaker replica holstered on her belt, if firing buckshot was too dangerous. If she even needed to use guns at all._

_Jen raised her cell to her mouth. "Five minutes are too long, but we can probably hold the fort until then, Paladin, out." She snapped it shut and pocketed it before stepping through the curtains onto the stage. Macheles saw her immediately, and his bodyguard stepped up, all six-eight and 290 pounds of him, with two four-inch .44 Magnum revolvers holstered on his hips, butt forward for a double cross draw. Macheles also had a gun, a far too fancy 9mm he wore openly. Probably to better hide the drabness of his clothes. His fancy 'show' suit was somewhere in the back, covered with Kim's vomit. He had gotten too close to her, taunting her with is plans for the evening after she was nailed to the wall. Now he just wore a plain black suit and white shirt._

_Shego was four feet from Kim, and Jen could clearly see the wide-eyed look of terror on the girl's face. She was trying to talk, trying to plead with Shego, but for some reason she wasn't making any sound. Jen moved to her left, to clear her line of fire past Shego. "That's Enough of this!" She proclaimed, not very loudly, but her voice carried well by it's nature, and she knew how to use it. Shego stopped, then staggered back a step or two._

_Macheles didn't seem fazed, though. "Well, well, what have we here? Another player for our play? A Black Knight, by her dress, not a shining one? And with a knight on her breast..." He suddenly faltered, as he realized something was wrong. He wasn't getting anger, or rage, from his foe. She was regarding him with as much dispassion as she would a cockroach, it seemed. There was nothing there to manipulate...so he panicked. His bodyguard sensed it, too, and reached for his guns. Hoping the big lug was fast enough, or at least that he would draw the first fire, Macheles clawed for the gun at his own waist._

_It wasn't even close. The long barrel of Jen's .45 was at eye level before Belacost got his guns clear, her body turned to reduce her silhouette, and then two bullets, in rapid succession, hit the bodyguard in the throat and mouth. And without hesitation, she switched aim to Macheles, and put one through his forehead, just above his right eyebrow. She was still aware of other things, like Shego's plasma flaring as she regained control of her own mind. And the audience surging to their feet, and flooding towards the exits, knocking over chairs and a couple of tables in their wake. And two muffled reports from backstage, that could only be Sam's coach gun._

_And then it happened. As her two targets collapsed to the floor, Shego suddenly turned and lunged towards Kim. She grabbed hold of the nails through Kim's palms, and tore them out of the wood, and the girl's hands, all at once. Then she caught the teenager in her arms, and collapsed to her knees, embracing her. Jen strode towards them. She could see the terrified look still in Kim's eyes, the stiffness of her body. Jen was going to pull them apart, and she even had adjusted her grip on her gun, prior to possibly slugging Shego with it, when something happened that stopped her dead in her tracks._

_She became aware that Shego was crying, sobs causing visible convulsions. And then the fear suddenly left Kim's eyes, and her body relaxed. She then put her arms around the older woman, blood dripping from her hands, and patted her on the back with one, while hugging her with the other. And she said, so softly Jen barely caught it, "Don't cry, Ana." And then she passed out. Shego panicked, just for a moment, before she realized the girl was just unconscious. She started to shout, but Jen beat her to it, calling for a medic, and so Shego subsided, and held the unconscious teen until paramedics arrived. _

_Sam emerged from backstage with a blanket, and Shego's clothes. A female Marshal, or possibly a disguised GJ agent, hovered nervously around, trying to decide what to do about Shego. Fortunately, she decided on discretion. Jen wasn't able to lie in Shego's defense, not after what she had done, so she stayed silent later when asked if Shego had been on their side. Sam had fielded the question, answering with a half-truth that allowed the pale thief to go free, for that night, at least._

And now, the tall merc was trying to deal with those memories. "_How could Kim...after all that had been done to her, and with an enemy, whose fault it was she had that done to her..." _Jen shook her head, angrily. "_Of course, she didn't know Shego had let her down, or did she? Did she figure it out when she saw Shego on the stage alone? And if so, how the Hell could she forgive her for that?!" _But the answer wasn't that hard to see. "_Because she's Kim Possible, that's why. She isn't a big, cynical bitch of a mercenary like you, Paladin!"_

"Well, are you finally going to tell me what has been biting you about that night, or do I have to threaten to withhold sexual favors?" Jen turned to give Sam her most sarcastic look. The blond shrugged, "Hey, it's that, or threaten to cut my hair short, so you can't braid it in the nude anymore." Jen blushed slightly at that, then just expelled her breath in a huff, and leaned against the wall of the pool house "Nothing new, just another lesson on how deficient I am in forgiveness."

Sam nodded sagely, "Oh, that old problem! Can't understand how Kim can forgive Shego, and apparently trust her now?" She paused for a moment, "Well, to tell the truth, that is a little much for me, too. But, oddly, I trust her judgment. I mean, her plan that night wasn't bad, it wasn't her fault it went wrong. We should have anticipated Shego's actions."

Jen gave her a look, "I _did_ anticipate them, but you...No, sorry, let's not fight over it. But those four girls in there are right, you know, Kim is worth an extra effort to save." She suddenly grinned, "And I need to field-test my new weapon system..." then her face went back to grim, "But we need a client, we have to be compensated. And besides, we can't go for the same reason they aren't taking Stoppable, they might need to evacuate more then two people from wherever they are going, so they need all the tubes on their ship free that they can manage."

She sighed, long and loudly. Then perked up a bit. "Oh, you need to see the weapon. Someone, possibly the same 'people' responsible for the girls' guns, seems to have modified it."

Sam's eyes widened, and she gave Jen a skeptical look, "Really?" At her taller partner's nod, she smiled widely, "Well, what are we standing here for, let's take a look!"

0000000000

Anne Possible returned from the kitchen, setting a soda, glass with ice, and a wrapped straw down in front of her surprise guest. She sat down, and waited patiently while Wade prepared his drink. As soon as he took his first sip, however, she cut to the chase, "Wade, do you have any news at all of Kim?"

A guilty look crossed the boy's face. "Yes, Ma'am. I had hoped to have just good news, I mean, I didn't want to come until I did, or rather, call you, but I wasn't sure the lines weren't tapped, I mean..." Anne patted him on the shoulder, "Relax, Wade, calm down, and tell me what you do know, please?"

"Well, you, me, Ron and Charley know why Kim really disappeared. Did you tell Kim's dad?" Anne nodded. "The boys?" She shook her head, "Oh, okay then. We were right, Shego had a doctor she knew from her childhood treating Kim, which is why we can't let the truth get to the authorities, because it would get the doctor in trouble, and she's a nice woman." He looked pleadingly at Anne as he said this, and she didn't hesitate to nod agreement. "Anyway, the treatment was starting to work, but, then someone kidnapped Kim and Shego." he finished in a rush, and braced himself for her response.

"What!" The bracing wasn't enough, Wade winced and recoiled visibly at the shout. Anne calmed herself, "Sorry Wade, but...how does she manage it? Even when it isn't a villain threatening her...sometimes, I wonder what karma I passed to her, I've had such an easy life, that I sometimes think she is getting all the knocks I didn't." She smiled, ruefully, "Sounds silly, doesn't it?" Not waiting for a reply, her face grew serious again. "Do we know who kidnapped her?"

"Well...Uh, I am not sure how much to tell you, there are some serious secrets involved..."

"Note Uncaring Face!" Wade blinked, and Anne relented again, "Don't tell me anything that will get you in trouble, Wade."

"Not me, Doctor Possible, Charley! She's trying to keep Global Justice, and some other top secret guys, partially in the dark, because both might not put Kim's safety at the top of their priorities!" Anne frowned at that, "And what are you doing to help her do that, Wade?"

"Not enough!" the frown deepened. "I mean it, I would do anything for Kim! But, Charley won't let me...never mind. She just asked me to plant some evidence that Kim went to DNAmy's house here in Middleton, the day she disappeared, and that Shego went there, later."

"And you did?" Wade nodded, so she asked, "Why DNAmy? What does she have to do with it?"

"Well, the real villain is using Amy's lair and equipment, we think. Me and Zita are both trying to figure out where that lair is, but so far, no luck! I had to get away from my computers, and I thought of you...I should have thought to tell you earlier, I'm sorry."

He hung his head, but Anne smiled sympathetically, "It's Okay, Wade, as long as you were trying to find Kim, telling me could wait. Just, try not to do it again, if something comes up? And, as much as I appreciate what you say, please don't get yourself in trouble breaking the law, Wade, even for Kim. She really would blame herself if you were to get hurt, in any way, helping her."

"I know. We have had fights about how far I go sometimes. When she started, she didn't seem to worry about it, but I guess it was actually, that she didn't really think about what I might be doing."

"Yes, she can be rather self-centered, or focused, at times, even now. She really should have been more aware in the beginning, but I guess just doing what she did took too much of her attention. When she 'graduated' from cats in trees to supervillains, and you started helping her, I guess she had enough to worry about with just her, and Ron." She looked at the boy genius, "I do thank you for coming here to tell me, Wade."

"It's No Big, Doctor Possible. Well, I better get back to my computers. If Charley's plan works, I need to be there."

0000000000

Now moving upslope in the main passage, Shego and Kim were following what was now the right hand wall. Approaching one of the remaining unseen passages, they were still practicing caution. Even though the Rani was apparently not present, they had already killed the one spider outside their cell, and needed to be ready for any more patrolling, or guarding a particular place.

The next passage led to living quarters, and obviously DNAmy's, not the Rani's. Cuddlebunny posters and other paraphernalia decorated the room, though there were no representatives of Amy's vast collection. "The Rani either sleeps in her TARDIS, or down that last passage, Princess." Shego opined, "unless there is more farther up the main passage." Nothing useful was found in a quick search, save that Shego forced Kim to put on one of the mad geneticist's extra sweaters. Kim wrinkled her nose at the flowery scent clinging to it, but obeyed.

And then they reached the room Kim had been anxiously waiting to search. The rolling tables they had been brought in on were both pushed against one wall, and the equipment that had been used to extract the babies had been collapsed into more compact forms, and pushed into the corner. But Kim's eyes fell on the two cylinders she believed the babies had been transported into. But to her disappointment, the lids were ajar, and the cylinders obviously empty. Then she spotted a computer console at the rear of the room, and moved quickly towards it. It was half hidden by a curtain, and attached to one end of it was a large, boxy chamber on a wheeled carriage. Several cables went from the chamber to the console, in the center of which was a screen filled with symbols in a language that wasn't even vaguely familiar. "Do you think they're in there, Shego?" she asked, pointing at the wheeled chamber.

"No idea, Kimmie, and even if they are, how do we safely get them out?" Shego replied reasonably. Kim's face fell. "Listen, Princess, you stay here, while I check out that last passage." She held up her hand as Kim started to protest, "Hey, I've been doing this sort of sneaking around for years, trust me, okay? Stay here, and try and save your strength." After a moment, a frowning Kim nodded reluctant agreement. "Good! Stay here, and don't fool with anything." The thief turned and headed for the door. Behind her, Kim wagged her head and mimicked Shego's last words, silently.

After Shego had gone, Kim turned back to the console and looked at the screen again. And suddenly spotted a row of tabs along the bottom. One said 'English'. After looking around for some kind of mouse, she decided to try touching the tab with her finger. It worked, and the writing was immediately translated.

**Subject Status: both fully viable. Both subjects now aged eight months, seven days.**

Kim studied the screen, and spotted a tab labeled 'options'. She tapped it.

**Option: Revival. Option may be safely initiated. Recommended course. Time limit until initiation: 3 days, before damage to subjects occurs.**

**Option: Stasis. Option may be safely initiated. Revival recommended first, as switch from one mode of suspension to a second may cause brain chemical imbalance.**

**Option: Termination. Option may be safely initiated. No tissue or chemical damage will result, dissection should follow.**

**Option: Destruction. Option may be safely initiated. Total reduction of mass to approximately three ounces residue.**

Kim was appalled at the implications of the last two options. Anger hardened her expression, and she selected the first option.

**Revival selected. Twenty minutes to full revival. Process can be accelerated 90 percent, with moderate risk of damage to subjects for first ten minutes, and slight risk for remaining ten minutes. Confirm revival option to start process.**

Kim selected the first option again, and a countdown timer began to run. She watched it for three minutes before she started to fidget, glancing towards the door, and wondering whether Shego was all right. Then she took a look along the console, behind the curtain. And her eyes widened. Grabbing the curtain, she pulled it aside. At the opposite end of the console was another Chamber, but this one was on the floor, and stood fourteen feet high, at least. And had identical markings on it's front as the wheeled one. "Oh, Snap!"

Shego returned nine minutes later, to find Kim with a guilty look on her face. Suspicion bloomed on the thief's face, "Kimmie, did you do something we may regret?"

Kim grimaced. "Well, maybe. You see, I found out how to change the language, and I started the machine on 'revival', but then I saw that..." she pointed at the large chamber, "And I wondered which chamber I sent the command to."

Shego looked from one chamber to the other. "Yeah, Princess, that might be a problem, there." She rolled her eyes, "So, how long 'til we find out which one?" Kim pointed at the timer display on the screen, "About seven and a half minutes."

"Okay, why don't you come over here, closer to the door, and get behind me? IN fact, since you might need a head start, why don't you go out in the main passage?" Kim shook her head, "Not the passage, but I'll get behind you, and give you a clear field of fire." Which she proceeded to do, but kept a clear line of sight to the timer display.

Six minutes later, a series of noises emanated from the smaller chamber. Not quite relaxing completely, Shego moved towards it. She sensed Kim right behind her as she advanced. As the timer counted down the final thirty seconds, Shego found herself holding her breath, and suspected Kim was, too. Then a buzz sounded from the chamber, and the lid cracked open. A hissing sound went on for a few seconds, then the lid rose to a vertical position. She felt Kim take hold of her arm as they both stepped up and looked in the chamber. "My God, Kim, they're..." and words failed her.

The two little girls in the chamber were both apparently asleep, though one was kicking out with her feet. One had dark red hair, the other black. The black haired girl had slightly darker skin, and seemed a bit larger. She had a small diamond shaped birthmark on her left hip. They both rested on a layer of blue padding, which lined the sides of the chamber, as well.

Both women stared at the babies for nearly three minutes before Shego finally rediscovered her voice. "Well, we know who had which one, don't we?" She turned her head to look at Kim, but when the girl suddenly caught her breath, her gaze snapped back to the babies. The little red haired girl had opened her eyes, and was looking at the two of them. Then the second little girl followed suit. Both pairs of eyes were a deep, clear blue. "Not green..." Kim murmured, "Or, not yet, maybe." A smile spread across her face, and to her surprise, it was returned, by both little girls. They looked back and forth between the two faces before them, Kim's smiling one, and Shego's awestruck one. "Smile for them, Shego!" Kim hissed, and the older woman's expression began to transform into one of joy, though she still looked slightly dazed.

After a couple minutes, however, Kim noticed that goosebumps were appearing on the babies, and their smiles began to falter. "Shego, we need blankets, or something, for them!" Looking around the room produced no results, and as the babies began to fuss, Kim pulled the sweater over her head, and Shego quickly followed suit with the top to her greens. Looking at the sweater, however, and taking another sniff of it, Kim set it aside, and pulled her top off, instead. She leaned into the chamber and bundled one baby in it, then took Shego's top and wrapped the other little girl, then picking the first up, she handed her to Shego, and took up the second. Turning towards Shego, she began to speak, and then froze, staring towards the door.

Shego spun around. The Rani stood in the doorway, holding the same red and silver pistol she had frozen Shego with back in the jungle. She was disheveled, and had scratches on her face. And the look on her face was one of near rage. "What have you two done?! You've ruined them!" She raised her pistol. "And you are going to _pay_ for it!"

* * *

Please Read and review, I can hear you breathing out there.


	11. Not Quite

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Once again, we go straight to the **Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible, any of the characters from that show, or those from any other media that I may reference in my stories.**

Even as she made the emotionally charged threat, The Rani's dominant side, her cold, scientific, side, began to force itself to the surface. She looked at Kim, who she had judged as past saving. She noted that what she could see of Shego's exposed abdomen showed no sign of her recent pregnancy. Her anger and frustration vanished almost immediately, and her analytical mind kicked in. "And how is it that you are alive, Miss Possible?"

Having noted the personality shift, and wary of the woman's weapon, Kim suppressed the urge to provoke her. Looking into the eyes of the little girl in her arms, she gave the baby a smile, and replied, "Would you believe me if I said I haven't any idea how it happened?"

The Rani frowned, but grudgingly nodded, "Maybe you don't. But, I am afraid I don't like mysteries, so forgive me if I seek the answer, at whatever cost to you. Now, put the child back in the chamber, and push the small blue switch on the rim, it will induce a sleep state, perfectly harmless. The other one, too." She spoke to Shego. Reluctantly, both women did as they were told. The babies fussed as soon as they were put down. Kim looked skeptically at the Rani, finger on the switch, but decided the woman had no reason to harm the children, at least yet. So she flipped the switch, and the two babies quieted. She looked carefully, and saw that both were still breathing normally.

"Very good, now stand where I can see you clearly." As she spoke, the Rani had taken her PDA-like device from her pocket and entered several commands. "_Wish I was more familiar with my new plasma..." _Shego thought, "_It's faster, but how much faster? Can I shoot from the hip, and blast her before she blasts me?_ _If that is the weapon that 'froze' me back in the jungle, can I dodge it? Better not try unless things get desperate, may get a better shot." _Then her brow furrowed, as several of the rani's creatures entered. Four of the 'jungle sasquatches', each between eight and eleven feet tall, and two of the tentacle spiders. These last scuttled over to stand in front of Kim and Shego. Kim reflexively stepped back.

"I trust you understand what will happen if you don't obey orders with alacrity, ladies?" The Rani was looking more at Kim then Shego as she spoke. The girl had her arms crossed over her bare chest, but the Rani could clearly see that there was no sign of the damage that had been done to her. But her first command went to Shego. "Take that off." she indicated Shego's sports bra. Shego made a sour face, but complied. The Rani frowned, "How? Rapid healing might have been a side affect of the Tempusite, but that wouldn't account for the disappearance of your milk. Show me your lower abdomens, both of you." When Kim showed reluctance, "Or, we can have your clothes off altogether, again." The girl assumed an impassive look, but obeyed the command, as did Shego. After a few moments studying the revealed skin, the Rani made an impatient gesture. "Cover yourselves, I just don't understand what is going on here, but I intend to find out!"

Shego put her sports bra back on, and Kim picked up Amy's sweater and donned it. As she did, the Rani's eyes fell on Shego's bush pants, which Kim had for some reason kept carrying around and were now draped over a small table. Noting the holes in the fabric, her expression brightened. "Ah, I see another one of my experiments has been initiated. The question is, who is the test subject?" At the women's puzzled looks, she actually smiled.

"Ah, of course, perhaps I should explain. When I removed the infected tissue from Miss Possible..." Kim shuddered at the memory, "I cultured some of the disease from it, and applied it to those trousers. I hoped to find out how the disease would work on Shego, here, and whether I had correctly duplicated the medication that you were using to treat it. I was going to trick, or force you to use your plasma, and see if you could activate the disease." Growing looks of horror appeared on her audience's faces. "You see, I learned how the original infection was caused from Miss Possible, while performing the excision of said tissue." Shego looked at Kim, who just stood looking at the pants, a dull look on her face. The girl hadn't mentioned that. "_Then again_, _she's probably ashamed. She shouldn't be, really, everyone can break under torture, and she has never been tortured before...that I know of."_

"So, which of you is the victim? Easy enough to see from the look on her face. Poor Miss Possible, cured, then reinfected. Now, the question is, do I cure you?" Kim looked up at that, but not hopefully.

"First, let's see how advanced it is, and how much area is affected." She pointed at the tall chamber that Kim had been concerned with earlier, "Step over to that. And you, Shego, step over there." She pointed to one corner of the room. As soon as the two were in place, she stepped to the console and began typing commands, after resetting the language to it's original selection. The front of the chamber swung open, and the Rani gestured to it. "Get in, no, wait, not with that appalling thing on." She pointed at the sweater. Almost mechanically, Kim removed it, and stepped inside the chamber. She didn't even look up as it swung closed, and the interior lit with a blue light.

"_No, no, no, I can't go through all that again, I can't! This is so...the babies, I can't leave them, even if I trust Shego to take care of them, I have to live for them!" _A low humming ran through the chamber, making her head briefly ache. Then the chamber swung open again, to reveal a frowning Rani. "Get out of there!" she snapped at Kim, then turned to Shego, "And you get in!" Shego shrugged at Kim as they passed, Kim moving over to where Shego had been. As she turned, she stopped in shock. One of the spiders was now poised above the babies. The threat was obvious. The second one was in front of her. Though the Rani had implied to Shego that she had tortured Kim during the removal of the infected skin from her body, in fact it had been the spiders she had used to torture the girl, three of them, surrounding her as she lay on the floor, and stinging her when she hesitated to answer the Rani's questions. The Time Lord had actually anesthetized the area she had removed, though Kim had been conscious throughout the procedure. The screams Shego had heard from the cell were from the spider attacks.

The Rani looked at the read-outs in front of her. Kim couldn't fathom why she had forced Shego into the chamber. "_Unless..." _Then the chamber opened, and Shego stumbled out, looking slightly disoriented. "Nothing!" spat the Rani, "No sign of the disease in either of you! How is that possible?"

Shego's eyes met Kim's, and she winked. "_The change in her plasma, it didn't activate the disease, it destroyed it, and the cloth that was treated with it!" _The relief that ran through the girl caused a momentary weakness in her knees. And then she thought she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, near the entrance. Trying not to attract the Rani's attention, she slowly turned her head to look. And saw what was obviously one of DNAmy's creations, moving up behind one of the Rani's humanoid beasts. Suddenly, that animal sniffed the air, and whirled, and battle was joined.

Shego spun and blasted the spider threatening the babies, sending it hard enough into the wall that it splattered. She sent her next shot at the Rani, but surprised or not, the Time Lord had great reflexes, or survival instincts, or both. She managed to avoid most of the blast, but her weapon spun away out of her hand as the plasma slammed into her shoulder. She dove out of sight amongst the machinery as Shego had to turn to another threat. One of the big creatures was coming at her, and this one had claws at least three inches long protruding from it's fingertips.

Kim, meanwhile, managed to barely dodge the hated tentacles of the spider watching her. As they recoiled for another strike, she dove over it, doing a forward handspring. Advisable or not, she pulled it off, and as the spider spun towards her, she snatched Amy's sweater off the console and threw it at the spider, meaning to entangle it's tentacles, or perhaps blind it so she could just stomp on it. Instead, to her surprise, the creature backed away as fast as it could, right up the wall several feet. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Kim spun about and tried to spot a weapon to use.

Three of the Rani's creatures were engaged now by DNAmy's 'Cuddlebunnies', with mixed results. A Rhino headed CB had impaled it's opponent on it's horn, and then lifted it clear off the ground, shaking it back and forth as it wailed in pain. But a half rabbit wasn't doing as well, and seemed on the verge of having it's back broken by it's opponent. The third fight, with a half-walrus, half gorilla, was so far a bloody draw, with both beasts' fangs embedded in their opponent's flesh.

The fourth beast slashed at Shego, but the agile thief ducked, and slammed a plasma wreathed _shuto_, or knifehand, against the inside of the creature's forearm. To her disappointment, it didn't cut through the arm, but the beast snatched it's arm back with a pained roar. It shook the arm as if it was numbed, for the few seconds before Shego took it's mind off that problem, by slamming the heel of her hand hard into what she judged was the creature's solar plexus. This strike was also boosted by her plasma, which she projected into the creature on impact. The beast, all nine feet and some four hundred plus pounds of it, was physically knocked back nearly three feet, and doubled over in agony, many of it's internal organs ruptured by the strike.

Shego then spun away to try and locate the Rani. She let fly one blast of plasma at the victorious beast that had just slain the rabbit headed CB. She used a stream of plasma, which sliced up her target's back the same way it had the cell wall. As it collapsed, she searched for their nemesis, and abruptly spotted her, disappearing into an opening at the rear of the room. "_Damn! Should have known, secret exit!" _She turned back to check the babies, and spotted the spider menacing Kim suddenly leap at the girl. Her blast met it in mid-air, tearing it apart. "_I do love this faster plasma! But, there are still some things I need to learn about it."_ Having thought this, she suddenly felt a moment of nausea, but it quickly passed. _"What was that?"_

The Walrilla finally won it's fight, but was badly torn up in the process. Two more of the huge Cuddlebunnys came in, flanking their creator. "Took your time, Amy!" Shego yelled at her. "Don't yell at me! They had to eat, the poor dears have been starved, for nearly a week! Oh! My poor babies!" DNAmy wailed, looking at the dead one at her feet, then the injured one. "Oh! My poor...babies?"as she saw Kim taking one of the little girls from the chamber. "What...where did...they, come from?" she finished, as Kim handed the first child to Shego, and took up the second herself.

"They're ours, Amy. Now, we need to get out of here, before we get swamped with monsters! How many exits are there?" But the pudgy geneticist heard nothing but the first assertion. "Yours? Yours and Kimberley's? But how, who was, or were, the fathers?"

"There weren't any, she combined our DNA to make them! Now, how many ways out of here?" Again, Amy heard only what she wanted. Her eyes widened, "Oh, that is impressive! Maybe that horrible woman does know something of genetics!" Her eyes shifted to Kim, "I shouldn't think you would be the type to run around like that, Kimberley!" Kim looked down at herself, and handed her bundle to Shego, who was doing a slow boil, unable to attack Amy without risking a conflict with her Cuddlebunnys. Kim picked up Amy's sweater and pulled it back on, drawing a scowl from the woman.

But Shego drew Amy's attention back to her. "Amy! We have to get out of here, how many ways can we go?" The geneticist scowled, but then suddenly realized what Shego was saying. "There are only the main passage, and a narrow spiral staircase up from the storeroom, I don't recommend it, Reithan's creatures can get into it too easily." Shego rushed past her, having given Kim back one of the babies. "How far to the exit from here?"

"Two hundred feet up there is a very large room, on the left will be another opening, and two hundred feet up that passage is the door. But, it may be difficult to open, it is very heavy. There is a smaller door, but that will also require force, I no longer have the key for it." Shego shook her head. "Long way to go, we have to get moving! Can you keep up carrying the baby, Kim?" The girl looked doubtful, then shook her head, "No, I can't. You take both girls and go ahead, they are the most important concern."

Shego wanted to argue, even though she recognized the determined look in Kim's eyes, and knew it would take too long. Then DNAmy surprised her. "Oh, let me carry the little ones! You need both hands free to fight with, Shego, and I can carry them easily!" Shego blinked in surprise, then looked at Kim. After a moment's hesitation, the girl shrugged, and held out her little girl to Amy. Soon enough, the woman was cooing over both children as she followed Shego up the main passage, followed by Kim, and then her four surviving creations.

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The Rani stormed into her TARDIS, wincing in annoyance as she passed through the security barrier in the doorway. It was a nuisance, and until her encounter with Ron Stoppable, she hadn't bothered with it. Now, it was running, notifying her of any intrusion into her machine. She crossed the control room to one locker, and selected a weapon to replace the Staser she had left behind. She had already released enough of her creatures to pursue her foes, and a dozen more now trooped into the TARDIS. As each set off the security alarm, she grimaced and deactivated it.

Watching her through the doorway to one of the ancillary rooms, Fred and Saul took note of which control affected the barrier. It had been that barrier that had prevented them from escaping the TARDIS. Since the Rani had returned to her lair, Saul had been trying to interface with the machine, but progress had been very slow.

Roy might have been a better choice for this mission, since he had familiarity with Gallifreyan technology, but he also was too impatient, and curious. He probably would have popped out to help the Rani solve the code dilemma, which might have compromised the mission slightly. The two more 'mature' members of the boys had gotten the job, towing one of Wade's Communicators into the TARDIS during the Rani's panicked flight from Ron. Hiding the unit, the two had used their stealth fields to avoid detection so far. And now, they knew how to get out of the time ship.

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"Amy, I don't mean to insult you, honest, but do you consider yourself a person who always keeps her word?" Kim spoke in a low tone, walking besides the geneticist. Amy frowned suspiciously, "Why? And yes, when I give my word, I keep it." Kim hesitated a moment, then replied, "If something happens to me and Shego, and you get out, will you take the girls to my parents? I don't know how you will explain them, but...please?"

Amy blinked in astonishment for a few seconds. Then, a smile slowly grew on her face, "Kimberley, I don't know how you can trust me, but I give you my word, I will see them safely to your family, no matter what happens." Her smile faded slightly, before she went on earnestly, "And in return, do you know about the time-share lair in Minnesota?" Kim nodded. "There is a picture of me at Cuddlecon '02 on one wall. On the back, and you will need your computer friend's help to find it, is the location of my collection. If any thing should happen to me, please see that they get good homes." She looked into the eyes of the two little girls she carried, "One each for these little ones, of course, their choice, but see that the others go to people who appreciate them, Please?"

Kim actually felt her eyes getting wet, as she nodded, "Of course I will! Now, though, let's not think about not getting out of here, Okay?" Amy nodded back. Behind her, a lion headed CB sniffed the air, and growled. "I think they're coming after us, Kimberley!" The passage was rapidly getting darker as they went on. Amy looked up at the ceiling. "Henchco wanted to put track lighting through the whole place, now I wish I had agreed."

They entered the big room Amy had spoken of. As Kim's eyes searched the gloom for the other door, Shego suddenly looked up towards the ceiling. She scanned back and forth for nearly a minute. "I swear I saw something move." Kim looked up as well, but both of them lost interest quickly when a familiar sound came to them from their left. The echoing sound of a TARDIS materializing.

Shego's "Damn!" overrode Amy's "What was that?" Kim took a step backwards, as the Cuddlebunnies began to growl. "She got ahead of us!" Amy still looked puzzled, "But How? What was that noise?" Kim looked at her, as Shego scanned the room for any hiding places. "Amy, Elizabeth Reithan isn't human, she comes from a race called the Time Lords. She is actually called The Rani." Amy blinked for a few moments, then incongruously began to smile. "You mean, they're Real? Oh, my, I read this blog about one of them, he is supposed to be..." And the smile vanished, "But this one is evil, isn't she? Oh, Dear, I should have seen it!" Kim had turned away, like Shego trying to assess their options, but a sudden loud roar from the lion headed CB caused her to spin back, just in time to see Amy's eyes widen in shock, and her pet suddenly slam it's foot down on something behind her, generating a loud 'Splat!'.

Amy began to fall forwards, and Kim lunged to try and hold her up, while trying to secure the babies. Shego grabbed hold of Amy's shoulders, as Kim got hold of the girls. Amy's eyes, the whites of which began to turn red at an alarming rate, looked into Kim's. "...promise.." she whispered, and then her eyes closed. Kim backed away in horror, as the cuddlebunnies began to rage. A crushed spider was behind Amy, the two spikes formerly on it's head now embedded in the backs of the woman's calves. Shego lowered her to the ground, already knowing without checking her pulse, that she was gone. And then her creations, roaring their anger, charged back down the passage.

Shego looked at her hands, accusingly. "They didn't light! Why the hell not?" She looked up at Kim, then to the girl's left, towards the exit, and her eyes widened. A bare flicker of green appeared around her hands, when a blue beam of energy hit her, lifted her off the ground, and then swung her sideways towards one wall. "_Hey, I saw this game!"_ flashed through her mind, just as her outstretched left arm hit an angle. Her humerus snapped like a twig, and then her head hit the wall as well. And everything went dark.

The sounds of bestial combat echoed up the passage, as Kim, burdened by the babies, backed away from the advancing Rani and her creatures. "Stand still, Girl!" Kim stopped, having no realistic options. "_God, take care of my babies if she kills me, they don't deserve this!" _The girls were crying, but not as fiercely as one might expect, looking at Kim's face, as if to decide from her expression whether or not to go to full bellow. "You are not going to die yet, Miss Possible, I still need answers from you!" The noises of combat diminished rapidly, then ceased. The Rani nodded, "Well, that didn't take long." She turned to one of her creatures, and gestured towards Shego's crumpled form, "Bring her, and be careful." The creature obeyed, carefully lifting the unconscious thief.

"She's hurt! Let me help her, please!" Kim exclaimed. The Rani lifted an eyebrow, "And how would you do that, Miss Possible? Just how would you 'help' her?" Kim remained silent. The Rani gestured back down the passage, "Get moving, we have some things to discuss, you and I." Kim started to turn, then stared over the Rani's shoulder. Knowing it would be pointless for it to be a trick, the Rani turned quickly, as well, but saw nothing unexpected. She turned back to Kim, "What did you see?"

"Just another of your little spies, is all." Kim replied. Then she turned and started back down the passage, trying to watch her step while also checking on Shego. The Rani shrugged, certain Kim had spotted one of the two spiders who had been sentries here. The surviving one, that is.

When they came to the scene of the fight between the rival monsters, Kim nearly gagged, and averted her eyes. Then a horrible thought struck her, and she whirled on the Rani, "What about Amy's body? We just left it there!" The Rani gazed back dispassionately, "Worry about the living, not the dead, Miss Possible. Keep Moving!" Feeling nauseous, Kim obeyed, trying to ignore the sounds of the Rani's monsters feasting around her.

When they came to the familiar six doors, the Rani ordered Kim to halt, and leaving two of her creatures to guard her, accompanied the one carrying Shego into the cell area. She was back in a few minutes. "Well, a little adjustment to the forcefield was necessary. Fortunately, the one she destroyed recorded her new power 'frequency'. She won't be getting out of that cell." She pointed at the central door opposite. "In there."

Kim entered the room, and stopped just inside. Two monsters still flanked her, and she saw three spiders, all the tentacled kind, rush in and climb up on various surfaces, all eying her and the little ones.

The Rani stepped up to her, and held out her arms, "Give me one of them." Kim warily complied, having little choice in the matter. She expected the Rani to put the baby back in the chamber, but to her shock the Time Lord unwrapped the little girl and set her down in the middle of the floor, causing her to start crying from contact with the cold concrete. "What are you doing!" But the Rani didn't answer, just pried the second girl away from her, aided by one of her monsters, and treated her similarly.

With both babies wailing, the Rani looked Kim in the eyes. The three spiders suddenly leaped to the floor and surrounded the babies, and Kim's breath caught. "As before, Miss Possible, we will have a question and answer session. With a little more at stake!" Kim shook her head, "...no,no,no, please, you can't!" The Rani didn't blink. "As before, Miss Possible, now! You remember my rules on disobedience, do you want the children to suffer?" Kim stared into the woman's eyes, but saw no mercy there. Her gaze dropped, and she mechanically began to remove her clothes.

The little dark haired girl had managed to stand up, and was trying to walk towards Kim, as she knelt and took her up. The little redhead crawled towards the girl as she laid down on her side, gathering both as close as she could, and doing her best to wrap her body around them to protect them, even though it left her horribly vulnerable. "Not going to let her hurt you, I promise." Kim murmured to the distraught babies. She braced herself for whatever was going to come.

If she had kept her eyes on the Rani, she might have seen the woman's mask slip, and a hint of relief flicker across her features as Kim obeyed her. "_Now, if she just cooperates, I won't have to hurt her. Mustn't indulge my anger." _"And now, Miss Possible, let's begin..."

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One hundred feet up the passage, Fred and Saul floated. They had exited the TARDIS as soon as the Rani's horde had, negating the need to deactivate the security barrier themselves. They now sought out a location to set the comm unit down and activate it. Spotting a niche in the stone wall near the ceiling, they headed for it, Fred towing the unit. The Rani's creatures basically ignored them.

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Shego sat against the wall of a new cell. This one differed from the first in that, for some reason, the floor was warm. Not that comfort was uppermost in her pain-wracked mind. "_Why the hell didn't my power work? It was going good for a while. I'll bet whatever the Rani used to block my powers adapted to the changes, dammit!" _

Some time passed, then she sensed movement. Her right eye wasn't working properly, so she had to turn her head to see the cell entrance. Kim, dressed as she had last seen her, was stepping into the cell, eyes vacant. Shego didn't see who had brought her, though she saw shadows moving out side the cell.

The girl leaned back against the wall opposite Shego, and sank to the floor. "Kim?" Shego croaked, "Kim? What did she do to you? Where are the babies?" The girl blinked, but didn't look at Shego as she replied, "Asleep, they're all right. She didn't do anything to me." A surge of anger rose up in the thief. "_Huh? Nothing? Then what the hell is the matter with you, Possible?" _Kim began to tremble, violently, and Shego scowled. "_Hope you aren't expecting me to hold you, Princess, I'm the one all beat ..." _Then Kim looked absently towards Shego, and her eyes focused. And the haunted look in them vanished, the trembling stopped like a switch had been thrown, and she moved quickly towards Shego, concern on her face, and just a touch of horror. "_Of course, best way to get Kim out of a funk about herself, give her someone else to worry about."_

Kim stopped just short of touching Shego, looking the thief in her good eye. "Are you ready for this?"

Shego smirked back, "Question is, Kimmie, are _you_ ready for this?" Kim nodded, and took Shego's hand. Pain shot through Shego, radiating from her broken arm, her head, and one eye. Before consciousness fled again, she saw Kim collapse, still holding on to her.

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Things were slightly chaotic in New Mexico. Barely finished with her breakfast, Jen Paladin spotted Charley and her crew rushing up the path towards their ship. She pulled her cellphone from her jeans pocket and hit speed dial for Wade. "Wade, did the alert go off?"

"Huh? No, why?"

"The girls are in a hurry, running towards their ship, for one thing." The house intercom buzzed, "Hang on a sec, Wade." She checked the panel, the call was coming from the workshop. Frowning, she pressed the key, "Yes?"

Aberdeen's voice answered, "Could you and Sam get over here? Something you should see."

"Abe? When did you get here...Oh, no, you didn't stay all night, your wife will..."

"She's at her sister's, greeting another new niece, or nephew, and never mind that, the two of you get over here!" Jen blinked. Aberdeen rarely was that brusque to her, and with good reason. Curiosity aroused, but divided between two subjects, Jen spoke again to Wade, "Sorry to have bothered you, but some strange stuff going on here, let me see what's up. Later, Wade." She hung up and headed towards hers and Sam's bedroom. It took her nearly ten minutes to get the sleepy blond into shorts and a tank top before dragging her into the kitchen, pouring two cups of coffee down her throat, and leading her to the workshop.

Inside, Jen automatically checked the weapon system Aberdeen had made her, but no visible changes had been made to it. They had determined that their initial suspicion had been correct, somehow the blue pieces added to the framework and recoil system could help negate the recoil of the fifty-caliber almost completely when the weapon was horizontal, and to a lesser extent if the weapon was elevated or depressed, something that could only be done if both hand grips were grasped and squeezed in a certain way. The system could be turned on and off at will.

But Aberdeen was standing by a different bench, and both women's eyes widened when they saw what lay on it. "Okay, Abe, care to explain?"

"Well, I had an idea to build something like this, and last night I came in here, and there was the frame for it, already assembled, with again some of that blue metal incorporated into it. Anyway, I thought Sam might like this, even if it isn't 12 Gauge." The weapon resembled Jen's, with twin P90s mounted side by side over another weapon. Except this time, it appeared to be a 40mm grenade launcher, fed by a wide magazine near the midpoint, flanked by struts to protect it if the weapon was dropped.

"Take a look at this." Abe said, and flipped three catches on the magazine, dropping three separate panels. The center one was slightly lower then the flanking ones. "Three magazines, side by side, in one unit. They each hold six rounds, despite how they look, just like the new one on Jen's fifty. There is a feed selector on the launcher's grip, so you can choose which type of round you want. You can even return whatever is in the breech to it's magazine, if you have the wrong load. My only complaint, is you still have to load rounds individually if you exhaust your supply. Oh, and I found out how to empty the magazine on both weapons without firing the ammo off."

Sam looked amazed, and pleased, but Jen had a sour look. "Somehow, this is not sitting well with me, something is going on here, and I want to know what it is." Sam's look soured as well. She muttered something about 'gift horses'.

But Aberdeen's expression shifted to smugness. "Tell me, again, why you aren't going to help those four girls with their problem?"

Both women looked annoyed. "Because we have to work for compensation, always, and you know that, Abe." Jen answered.

"And, are you assuming these modifications are free?" Both women looked puzzled, then thoughtful.

Jen scowled, while Sam's smile came back. "The price is right, as far as I'm concerned." She turned to her sour partner, and bounced up and down on her toes. "Shall I pack?"

"Sam, you're nearly thirty years old, stop acting like a child." "_And why didn't I make you put on a bra!" _"Okay, this might make sense, explained that way." She turned to regard her weapon on it's bench. Then taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly, then nodded, "Okay, I'll buy it. Get what we need together, I'm going to talk to Charley and company."

When she arrived outside Thundagirl, she was surprised to see the Reeder sisters flourishing swords. Both weapons resembled overlong and wide bowie knives, single edged, with the blades being about 18 inches in length by five inches wide, with a clip point, or false edge, running four inches back from the point. Then the girls held the weapons in front of themselves, and before Jen's eyes, they changed shape, To a round shaft the same length, and two inches wide, with the top six inches twice as wide, forming a mace-like cylindrical head, with four rows of pyramid shaped knobs lining it. The hilts for the weapons had enough space for a comfortable two-handed grip.

They noticed Jen, and as if they had been doing nothing unusual, they grinned then pointed at T-Girl's hatch and rolled their eyes. Jen stepped up onto the ramp and entered the ship. Looking around the central bay of the ship, Jen saw some changes had been made. Next to the hatch, towards the aft compartment, was a tall narrow set of shelves, on which were the elements of the girls armor, in separate compartments. There were still two empty compartments in the stack. Next to the shelves was a weapons rack. Six rifles of the type the Reeder sisters had demonstrated to her were racked there, above a row of seven pistols like Charley's. Stepping closer, saw that four of them were distinct. The slides on two of them were fire engine red, with small gold dragons on each side. Two more had blue slides, with a small eagle on each side. One pistol had silver, the other gold eagles. Below these were several closed compartments of different sizes. JJ Ko was pacing angrily back and forth, another of the odd weapons in her hands, this one in blade for.

"Been remodeling?" She asked Charley, who was leaning against aft bulkhead, next to the weapon's rack. The girl smiled, "Not exactly, but someone has, and T-Girl isn't happy about it." She snapped her head around as JJ suddenly swung her weapon about, going through several moves before resuming her pacing. "Also, those 'someones' have been altering our armament again, and again, we are not all happy about it." She waited a moment, watching JJ, before continuing. "Our melee weapons changed, except mine. Now we all have the mimetic weapon that I've always wielded. JJ's missing her sword, but I guess whomever is behind this thought it too powerful to keep."

JJ stopped pacing. "I could do _anything_ with my old blade! I mean, it responded to my will, only cut what I wanted it to cut!" She spat out angrily. She paced to the opposite side of the ship, and stopped to study an odd rack next to the port side hatch. "And what do you suppose that's for?"

Charley looked at the rack, as well. "Actually, I think it's for a dirt bike. Those four things over there are to secure a car, put one on each wheel, and activate them, and it keeps the car from shifting around."

Jen looked around the spacious bay. "You could get a Hummer in here, military one, anyway, without a weapons mount, that would make it too tall." The sound of an electric motor came from outside, drawing all their attentions to the hatch, as Sam rolled up in a golf cart, with a small arsenal piled in the back of it. Charley looked from Sam to Jen, then back again. "What's all this?"

"Well," Sam answered cheerfully, "We do need to field-test our new weapons, after all."

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Shego's first conscious impression was of someone washing her face. With warm water, and a soft cloth. This made little sense to her, considering her last memory, which this time was right in the front of her mind. She was lying on a hard, warm surface, with her head resting on something comparatively soft. And if her senses were correct, she was naked, but covered by something, at least partially. Whoever was washing her shifted their attention to her left arm, and Shego cracked one eye slightly to see what was going on. Of course, it was Kim doing the washing. Shego opened both eyes and looked at the girl, who didn't realize Shego had awakened.

The teenager looked tired, no surprise. She was wearing what appeared to be a fresh set of surgical scrubs, and appeared to have cleaned herself up a bit, as well. Right now, she was concentrating on her work. Shego waited a moment, until the girl was washing her hand, then spoke. "Hey."

Kim jumped, startled, then blushed. "Shego! Um, good, you're awake, you can, um, finish up yourself."

Shego quirked an eyebrow, "Oh, Really? And how much of me is left to do?" Kim turned redder, and Shego slightly regretted teasing the girl. She reached her right hand over and squeezed her left arm where it had been broken. No pain, no discomfort at all. "Wow, it hurts to do, but this speed healing isn't bad." Kim looked uncomfortable, and her blush faded away instantly. "What's the matter, Princess?" The girl just turned away, and slid across the cell floor to the opposite wall.

Shego levered herself to a sitting position, finding herself covered by a towel, at least her torso. She frowned at Kim. "Kim, what's the matter? And what's all this stuff?" The 'stuff' in question included two buckets of water, one of which had a used washcloth hanging from it's rim, and both the towel Shego wore, and a second, obviously used, laying near her. She then noted that her 'pillow' was another bagged set of scrubs, and what appeared to be the clothes she'd been wearing were in the back corner of the cell.

"I think the Rani got tired of how we smelled." Kim answered. Her voice was flat, emotionless.

Shego's frown deepened, "Kimmie, please tell me what's wrong? Did healing me hurt you more than it should have?"

The girl shook her head. "It's not important, Shego, finish washing up, two of those creatures are coming back for the water and stuff shortly. That's why I started washing you, I was afraid you wouldn't wake up in time."

Shego decided to back down a bit. "Well, Thanks, Princess. I can see the Rani's point, or rather, smell it. Uh, what happened to my undies?"

Kim blushed furiously. "They were covered with blood...your blood, Shego. One side of your face was a mess, it bled all down your front. I covered you up, before I undressed you, but you still have dried blood all over your tummy." Shego blinked at the choice of words, but checking under the towel proved Kim correct. "How badly was my face torn up, Kim?"

The concern in her voice made Kim look up. "You're fine, now, Shego, really, not a mark." But the girl winced slightly as she gazed at Shego, remembering. Shego decided not to ask further.

Taking up the washcloth Kim had been using on her, Shego began to clean up while the water was still warm. Kim turned her back, which Shego thought was slightly ridiculous, all things considered. But she said nothing, and after toweling dry, pulled on the clean scrubs. She noticed that one of the Rani's spiders occupied the wall outside their cell again. A tentacled one. And she may have imagined it, but Kim seemed to be doing everything she could not to look at it.

"I suppose you found Amy in that last room, while I was alone." Kim asked.

"Yeah, her and her creatures, all in cells, as well as their food supply. Apparently, she somehow made them all herbivores. I let her loose and made a deal, we'd help each other escape. That didn't turn out too well, did it! Can't believe I didn't think of her TARDIS!" Shego shot to her feet and began to pace. Then she looked at Kim, "Now, tell me, why are you so upset? Did the Rani hurt the babies? Or, did she hurt you?"

Kim shook her head, then suddenly slumped against the wall. "No," she said in a small voice, "This time, she didn't have to, I just told her everything she wanted, like a good little girl."

Shego knelt by the girl, and saw tears flowing. "Kim, she tortured you before, she hurt you a lot, you didn't want to go through it again, it's natural."

"No, it's not! I betrayed Ron's secrets, and yours! I wanted to protect the babies, yes, but I did it so she wouldn't hurt me, either! I put myself first, and I DON'T DO THAT!" She screamed the last, and shook from the force of her own anger at herself.

Shego frowned, and took hold of Kim's arm, "Protect the babies? What did she do to the babies, or threaten to?" And Kim told her the whole story, and about the first time, when the spiders had been used to torture her. Three of them, circling her, stinging her whenever she defied the Rani by refusing to answer. "I couldn't let them sting me with the babies there, they might have been hurt by my convulsions, so I just answered each question, and kept on answering, and pleading with her when she wouldn't believe me, like about Ron's Mystical Monkey Power, or all the healing we did, I begged her like..." She trailed off, sobbing.

Shego had to gather her thoughts, and rein in her own emotions before speaking. She took Kim's face in her hands, and turned it towards hers. "Kim, you put the babies first, in my opinion, not yourself! And, nothing you told her was worth being hurt to hide, at least nothing about me. Why did she ask about Stoppable?"

"She went back to your home, and Ron was there. She talked about him setting traps, and glowing blue, and killing five of her beasts, but she wasn't too coherent about it, just odd bits and pieces." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Ron found the house, but how?"

"Not sure, Kim, but it means someone followed my trail there. Maybe Nerdlinger and Ron, I wouldn't be surprised. Just Ron there alone, though, means they didn't tell Global Justice about the place, but then again, Ron invaded Doctor D's lair solo. But, setting traps takes time, and only if you know someone is coming back. Maybe he expected monsters, from the local stories, but still...the fact he defended the house means something must be there to defend, like Eliana." Kim's eyes widened, a bit of hope stealing into her expression. "And lastly, stronger people then you have broken quicker under torture, it all depends on how it is done, and how well, and what is at stake."

"But, people expect more of me, they _need_ to expect more from me, I sometimes have their lives in my hands! I don't want to be seen as a failure, or I will have to stop, don't you see? People have to trust me to save..._save them!_ And to do that, I need faith in myself, and the Rani may have taken that away!" Kim abruptly decided to change the subject. "Why do you think this floor is warm? The lair's power source?"

Shego nodded. "Probably, we never found it in any of the rooms we searched, so I bet there's another hidden passage, like the Rani used to escape us before. Hell, probably a whole slew of them."

Kim cast a look at the malevolent spider watching them, and looked away again with a shudder. "By the way, the Rani has some robot spies floating around, too. I saw one after you were knocked out, it looked like a little metal skull." Shego's head snapped around.

"What did you say?"

0000000000

Thirty feet above the cell, Fred and Saul worked their way through the narrow vents that provided air to the lair. When they had activated Wade's device in the main passage, the signal had been blocked, so now they were seeking a place outside whatever was jamming the signal. The going was slow, as the vents were blocked at regular intervals be grates to keep even snakes from getting inside. At each of these, one skull would have to teleport through, and the device relayed from one to the other, before continuing. And from their sensor readings, they had another sixty feet to go.

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Standing in Thundagirl's central bay, Jen Paladin looked around at the assembled 'response team'. "Okay, each rifle for Belle and Beth will have two mags of fifty cal, and five of 6.8mm RBC. JJ's and Charley's pistols will each have two clips of .50 magnum, and those are going to kick a bit, even with your weapon's compensation, and four clips of .40 S&W. Use whichever you think is appropriate for these 'monsters' we are expecting."

She walked over to her own equipment. "I'm taking Abe's latest, or next to latest, creation, Fully loaded, With 10 loose rounds of fifty, and two extra 50-round magazines of 5.7mm. Also taking this H&K 417, three spare magazines for that, and my .45. Sam is taking her new love interest..." Her partner smirked at that, "Loaded with twelve shot rounds and six explosive, and no spare rounds?" Sam nodded, "Okay, and two spare mags of 5.7, too. She is also carrying that old 'Coachgun' of hers, and a pair of high-tech Kama, Which she has never got to use in a fight, which in turn is probably her excuse for not carrying more ammo. I think she wants to go toe-to-toe with some of these things. That's Okay, I get all the partnership's assets in the event of her death." A mildly impolite gesture was made in her direction by a grinning Sam. "I would prefer to do monster fighting from a distance, personally."

She gave up the floor to Charley. "Okay, we get the signal, we contact UNIT, and we go. Can't plan farther then that until we see the layout of the Rani's hideout." She hesitated, "If we need to evacuate more people in a jump then T-Girl can hold, there will be no arguments about who stays behind, understand?" She looked at the two mercenaries. "You're older then us, but this is our operation, You are just helping, so you are _not_ last out, understand?" Both women saw something in the girl's eyes they hadn't before. The first real sign proving that she was a leader for a reason. They nodded agreement. "Unless the Rani has something really nasty in the way of weaponry, anyone we get inside T-Girl should be safe, though, so we may have nothing to worry about. In deference to UNIT, we will try and wait until they arrive before we go in."

"Now, all we need is for someone to start the party."

0000000000

Fred and Saul finally reached daylight, finding themselves in dense jungle. Fred flew up to a cleft in one tree's branches, and set Wade's comm unit down. The two skulls then communed for a minute. Saul then faced the device, and interfaced with it, briefly. Then both skulls flew back to the ventilation shaft and dove back in. Behind them, a countdown began on the screen of the device. **20:00:00...**

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**Twenty Minutes, that is.**

**Anyway, Please, Read and Review.**


	12. Battle Joined

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, or any of the characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

Author's Note: In case of confusion, the timer at the end of the previous chapter was set for twenty minutes, not hours.

Kim and Shego sat opposite each other in their cell. Shego had just finished telling Kim the whole story of what had happened when Drakken's lair had been bombed, and the girl was absorbing the information. "So, you're saying these girls were dropped off here by the Doctor, or at least they claimed to have been?" Kim finally asked. Shego nodded, "Yeah, Princess, that's what they say, and they had the tech to prove it, sort of. Not sure how they ended up involved with this mess, but Global Justice was taking charge of them, the last I saw."

"But, they aren't here yet, just one of the skulls? Okay, maybe...they were with Ron at the house, and the skull slipped into the Rani's TARDIS, and was brought back here?" Shego mulled that over, slowly nodding, "That makes some sense, Princess. Only explanation that does, for the moment. But, can it communicate with the others, or whomever is looking for us? By the way, Amy said we're in Thailand, Kimmie. Quite a distance from the Yucatan. Even if they know where the Rani went, no telling how long they'll take to get here."

After a few minutes of silence, Kim spoke up again, "Shego, you do realize that the Rani did age us nine months, making the babies? She took that time away from us." Shego scowled, then nodded, "Yeah, the thought crossed my mind, Princess." She looked up and smirked, "Means biologically you're legal, now, Kimmie, for a whole lot of things, if the law recognizes it."

"That's a big 'if', Shego, and only works if we let anyone know the truth about what happened to us." She sighed, and looked resigned, "Which we have to, if we want to legally claim our girls as our daughters."

Shego grimaced. "Well, unless we can arrange some kind of adoption...right, a wanted criminal and a teenager with a dangerous lifestyle, real likely!"

Kim's face grew more serious. "I think I could give the lifestyle up, to keep her. I mean, I intend to go to college, and being a mother, too...this is _really_ the Drama!" She shook her head, "Anything is possible...Boy, Dad may have to eat those words."

"This all supposes we can get out of here, and get the girls, Kimmie. And my power is still MIA, so that doesn't seem likely without outside help. And presumably, the Rani can leave any time, and take the girls with her."

Kim looked up with a horrified expression, "We can't let her! She can't have them!"

"Princess, I agree, and if anything I can do will make it happen, I'll do it, I give you my word, whether you trust it or not."

"I do trust it, Shego, at least in this case." She smirked slightly, then became serious again. "And getting those little girls away from the Rani is more important to me then anything, even my life!"

"Whoa, Pumpkin, turn it down a notch!"

"I mean it Shego, I may be a burden when we try and escape. You once promised Drakken that you wouldn't let me suffer, if one of his traps didn't kill me cleanly, now I want you to promise me that if it comes to choosing between me and them, you'll save them, without hesitation!"

Shego stared at the girl in shock for a second, trying in vain to form words. Then she clamped her mouth shut, and put her thoughts in order before expressing them. "Not fair, Princess, that was a whole different 'sitch', and you know it. But, yes, _If_ I have to make a choice, babies first. But don't expect me to like it." Kim nodded, satisfied, and lapsed into silence. But not for long. "I'm thinking of naming my little girl after Amy."

Shego blinked in surprise, then slowly grinned, "Princess, you're one of a kind!" Then she frowned, "I suppose I should think of a name, too. But, I have no clear choice here, I didn't know my own family, so can't name her after a relative...what?"

"Did you legally change your name to Whitlock, or is that an alias?"

"Legal as can be, Kimmie. After they made us Wards of the City, those bozos gave us all the surname 'Go', thought it was appropriate. Henry was the only one they had to convince, he wasn't a foundling, he was orphaned at a young age, so he had a last name from his family. The rest of us were 'assigned' last names for the official records, and none very imaginative. Mine was 'Black', oddly enough, Anastasia Black. So, yeah, I had it changed to 'Whitlock', after poor..." She looked up suddenly, comprehension dawning. "Of course! I see where you're going, Princess, and Thanks for the prod!"

She looked off into space, and whispered, "Millicent Whitlock." "_You never had a chance for your own kids, Milly, maybe this will make up for it."_

"Another thing has been bothering me, about the pregnancies." Kim had a thoughtful look, as she chose her words carefully, "You need a lot to make a baby inside you, I mean, just basically you do have to 'eat for two' at the very least. So, obviously, whatever fluid the Rani had us in provided all the things we needed to stay healthy, and produce a healthy baby, right?" Shego nodded agreement, "Then, why did I still come out looking like this?" Before Shego could frame a reply, another voice interrupted. "Actually, Miss Possible, the answer is simple." The two looked up to find their captor standing outside.

"In point of fact, if not for me, and my abilities, you never would have carried a healthy child to term." This matter-of-fact statement stunned Kim. "I don't know if you injured yourself with your 'active' lifestyle, or just developed poorly, but a successful pregnancy should have been impossible for you. But, I did manage to work it out so you were able to deliver a perfectly healthy little girl. However, because of your problems, and the rate at which your body could process the nutrients inside the chamber, your body had to assign priorities, and it put the child first. So, your own body didn't benefit very much at all."

Kim continued to stare at the woman for several moments, but she wasn't truly seeing her. "_No children? Because of what I've done, maybe? Mom and Dad...no,__I __would've been so disappointed, we all would have. I wanted to be a mother, someday, and now she tells me I never would have been."_ A scowl grew on her face, as she turned it away from the grinning woman. "_But I am, and that little girl will end up with me, no matter what happens!"_

"You decided what to do with us, yet, or our children?" Shego asked the Rani. The woman lost her grin, mouth setting in a grim line. "Actually, I will probably just leave you here, to be found, or to rot. As to the children, I may find a way to erase the 'imprinting' of your faces on their little minds as their mothers." She smiled again as she saw the anger rising in both captives' eyes. "In fact, I am inclined to leave today, my original purpose in coming here has been accomplished, as far as possible, and I am inclined not to outstay my welcome. So, Good Day, Ladies. You can hope for someone to find you before you starve." She then made her exit, immune to the glares directed at her back.

Kim and Shego turned to each other. No words were said, the determination visible in both sets of eyes were enough.

Unseen by either woman, a small area of visual distortion was approaching the watching spider from it's blind side.

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A level below them was a chamber for disposing of failed experiments. The means of disposing of many of the creatures was an acid bath, a large, open vat filled with the dissolving agent. Saul floated over the acid, waiting.

0000000000

Something out of the corner of her eye drew Shego's attention. Their watch-spider had vanished abruptly. "Where the Hell..." She broke off as a shiny black skull appeared outside the barrier. "Well, hello there!" She leaned as close to the forcefield as she could, looking both ways, but saw no sign of the creature. "And where did you send our ugly friend?" Fred tilted slightly to the left, as if shrugging, then leveled. He then began to investigate the forcefield.

Kim was looking at the little skull with wide eyes, but she slowly began to smile. "He is kind of, um, cute, in a way. Does he have a name?" Shego rolled her eyes, then furrowed her brow in concentration. "Yeah, he does. Let's see, Blue was Ben, Red was Roy, the steel one was Saul, so this is Fred." The skull bobbed briefly in acknowledgment. "Think you can get us out of here, Fred?" The skull bobbed again. "Good, then we have to find two babies..." Fred bobbed once more, "You found them? Great! You can teleport them to us, right?" Another affirmative answer. "That saves us some trouble, it also means there are at least two of these little guys here. What about Charley, Ron, and the other girls, Fred?" The skull swung back and forth in a negative answer. "On their way?" A bob. "Well that's something, anyway."

"Depends on how long it takes." Kim replied. Fred suddenly fixed on one spot in the frame. His eyes began to flicker, and there was a sudden change in air pressure. Shego reached out through the field, and met no resistance. "Well, we're good to go, Princess." As she started forwards, however, Fred suddenly butted her in the chest. "What the..." He repeated the action, and she brought both arms up, to fend him off. He tilted to look at her arms, and the light dawned. Even as Kim asked, "What's he doing?" Shego formed her arms into a cradle. Fred's eyes flickered again, and Shego had her arms full of baby.

"Oh!" exclaimed Kim, even as Fred turned towards her. Moments later, Kim was holding her own little redheaded girl. Both babies were naked, and quickly announced their displeasure at the change in temperature. Both women got the same idea at once, picking up the towels they had washed with. Though damp, they had been lying on the warm floor long enough to dry a bit, and were the only available option, anyway. Trying to get as much dry material in contact with the little ones' skin as possible, they wrapped them as warmly as possible.

Kim looked into the little redhead's eyes, smiling, and received one in return. "Hello, Amy, welcome to a very weird family, my baby." She looked up to see Shego with an awed look on her face, just staring at the dark-haired bundle in her arms. "And that's your sister, Milly, over there, being held by the very strange lady who contributed half of your DNA."

"Huh? Oh, very funny, Princess, very funny!" Then Shego frowned. "Sisters? I guess they are, at that. So, we are each responsible for both of them, right?" Kim nodded, "So if anything happens to either of us, the other takes care of both babies, right?"

"Of Course!"

"Okay, Princess, I get it." She looked at Milly again, "You know, Milly, even if you do have a little frog DNA in you, I may keep you, anyway." She smiled at Milly as Kim snorted in amusement. Then she looked up, and asked the big question. "Okay, Princess, shall we wait for rescue, or try and blow this place? DNAmy said there was a staircase up from the storeroom, right?"

Kim nodded in confirmation as she replied, "Never been much for waiting to be rescued, myself."

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Seven and a half seconds after the timer expired, Wade Load had Charley on the line. "Contact! They're in Thailand, Charley!"

A feeling of intense relief ran through the girl, but she was careful to keep the screen and pick-up pointed towards her, as her companions were already shucking clothes. "Great, Wade! Please pass the coordinates to UNIT, please. We're on our way." At Wade's acknowledgment, Charley signed off, put the communicator on the shelf with her armor, and dashed into the back compartment, stripping as she went. The other five were already in the tubes, Jen looking mildly apprehensive. "Don't worry, just restrain yourselves from moving when the isolation field kicks in." Charley assured them, as she took her own place.

"Is this going to hurt?" Despite the question, Sam had a big grin on her face. Before anyone could answer, Sam's eyes widened as she rose up off the deck, and she just stopped herself from reaching out to the sides of the tube. Then there was a momentary feeling of disorientation, everyone's feet came back in contact with the deck, and Charley and her team rushed back into the central bay, leaving the two mercs blinking behind them. "That's it?" Sam asked, mildly disappointed. Jen grinned, shook her head, and headed forwards.

The four girls had the easiest time dressing, only having to don their bodysuits, then slippers and gloves, before shifting into combat mode. As soon as the armor plates stabilized, they grabbed their weapons belts and donned them, then their weapons. Their pistols adhered to a plate, which angled out from their hips enough for them to get an easy grip on them, rather then being holstered. "_Right out of Star Trek." _Jen mused. The twins' assault rifles likewise adhered to the back of their armor, but unlike the previous diagonal position, they now hung vertically down behind the right shoulder. Charley and JJ stuck with pistols, JJ taking a pair. She also chose to carry two of the mimetic melee weapons hers slung on her back so she could draw them across her shoulders. The other three girls took one each.

The two Mercs pulled on their clothes, gray fatigues under form-fitting body armor, also gray. Jen's big .45 rode on her hip, while Sam's _Kama_ went into sheathes on the front of her armor, with the blades horizontal, and easy access to the hafts. They were made with modern materials, instead of traditional wood and steel. Jen left her assault rifle alone, since she had to sling it over the harness for her big gun, and Sam likewise left the double-barrel coach gun alone for the moment. She did, however, put on her knee-length black duster, and make sure her braid was safely tucked beneath it.

While all the dressing and equipping had been going on, Charley was talking with Thundagirl. "What's our status, T-Girl?"

"Twenty-five miles from transmission location right now, boss, dropping to treetop level, and closing. We have heavy jungle, very hilly, many small streams making cuts. No roads, but there is a narrow track running towards our objective. One radar operating, about fifty meters north of our transmitter, at the very top of the hill. No return off me, though."

"Only get close enough for the moment to get a good underground scan, T-Girl**.** Any sign of UNIT's transponders, yet?"

"Will hold at four kilometers, boss. And affirmative, have them over Malaysian territory. And if those are stock Lynxes the lead troops are riding in, I'm a blimp. They are doing at least thirty MPH more then they should be."

"Can they get here without being picked up by that radar?"

"Not if they come straight in, but I can plot a course they can use to avoid it."

"Okay, open a channel to them, and ask politely to interface with their tactical computer."

Behind her, Sam leaned close enough to whisper in JJ's ear. "Is that armor of yours Powered Armor?"

The girl shook her head, "No, it's protection only, but the plates have no weight, and they can take a lot of punishment."

"What about your heads?" Sam asked.

"Actually, that's the best protected part of us, but I can't tell you why, sorry." JJ replied. T-Girl interrupted before the conversation could continue.

"Channel open, boss, and asking politely." Charley nodded, finished adjusting her belt, and took up her comm. As she did, a panel folded down from the front bulkhead, and a holographic display appeared, showing the target as T-Girl's sensors began to reveal it. "Boarhound, Boarhound, this is Valkyrie, do you hear?"

"Roger, Valkyrie, this is Boarhound Six, over." It was a male voice, with only the vaguest accent.

"Boarhound, this is Valkyrie, we are on station, sending you tactical data." T-Girl cut in with more information for Charley, "Boss, UNIT has four aircraft total, all 'normal' appearing, Two Westland Lynxes, and two of those 'Chinooks' again, about fifteen miles astern. They're modified, too, moving about fifteen MPH over their rated speed, and that would normally be their 'empty' speed, these are fully loaded. I think one is the command ship, the other carrying the main ground force." While listening to this, Charley also heard a slight splutter in Boarhound Six's voice as he responded.

"On Station? How on earth did you manage to get here that quickly, or did you delay informing us of the target's location?" Surprise turned to suspicion in one sentence.

"We cannot reveal that, just trust me when I say that I did stick to the letter of my agreement with Brigadier MacLaren. Now, we have a schematic of the target. Main door recessed fifteen feet into the hillside, forty feet wide by thirty tall, about four and a half feet thick, Stone, no reinforcing metal. Personnel door to one side, Metal, and heavy, from this reading. Another entry via a thirty-five foot vertical shaft, very narrow, looks like a spiral staircase, entrance disguised as a rock outcrop. From main door, passage runs west, and slopes down about 18 degrees for 70 yards, enters a eighty by eighty by forty foot high chamber. Passage from there goes north, fifteen degree downslope for 340 feet, ending in a T-junction. One passage from there leads to a small room, the other to a very large area, one hundred by eighty feet, thirty foot ceiling."

"Two hundred five feet down from the first large chamber, we have the first of three doors on either side of the passage, leading to rooms of varying sizes. There are narrow passages running behind both sets of rooms, with the vertical shaft opening into the eastern one. They extend all the way to the rooms off the 'T'. I suspect the doors into them are concealed. The vertical shaft descends twenty feet past that level to another level, containing three large chambers. T-Girl, show me power sources, please? Ah, one of those chambers contains a Geo-Kinetic Reactor, which appears to be the power source for the whole facility. And there's the Rani's TARDIS, in the one chamber off the 'T'. Okay, show me lifeforms now, please?"

Her eyes widened as the display resolved itself. "Wow! That one big room is full of creatures, the Rani's been busy! Have four very small, and hard to classify, lifeforms at various points in the complex. And there is the Rani, first room on the left facing downslope, and our hostages, on the move?...Uh, I'm reading four lifeforms, two being carried...Babies?" Charley turned to see the curious looks of her companions. JJ shrugged, "Think the Rani did some experimenting, or kidnapping?" Charley shrugged.

"Geo-Kinetic Reactor?" Jen asked Belle quietly.

"Yeah, generates power from the movement of the planet through space. Only stops if you turn it off, and no pollution, either." the girl explained.

"Nice to have one of those around the house." Jen replied.

Boarhound Six was speaking on the radio. "Well, it looks like we will have to blast the main door, or more likely the adjacent personnel door. No chance of surprise, that way. When Spearpoint gets there, they should have enough explosives with them for the job."

"Well, I might have an alter..." Charley began, before being interrupted by T-Girl,"Boss, two things I need to tell you. First, there is a jamming field in effect that will block any teleports through it, as well as any transmissions." Charley grimaced, then nodded, " I was wondering why I couldn't connect with Fred and Saul., What was the second thing?" "Well, Boss, those Ar'Ithane did a little something to me..." After listening for a few minutes, Charley grinned, then called Boarhound, "I have a plan on how to proceed, Boarhound Six, tell me what you think of this..."

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Fifteen miles to the south, the lead UNIT Lynx swung down into a narrow canyon, following the evasive course provided by T-Girl. As it did, it passed over a device hidden in the foliage below, one of a ring of such devices deployed around the lair. As soon as the vibrations of the helicopter's rotors reached it, the device activated, extending three small sensor 'fans'. Analyzing the vibrations, the device decided that it's purpose had been activated, and it broadcast a signal.

0000000000

Boarhound Six was talking, "Valkyrie, I have reservations about that plan, and would rather try this my way. I believe..." he was cut off as T-Girl interrupted yet again.

"Boss, just detected a burst transmission, targeted at the lair! Point of origin...I believe the UNIT choppers set off a passive sensor, we've lost the element of surprise!" A muffled curse came over the still-live microphone, and two or three more echoed through the bay aboard T-Girl.

Charley shook her head, "I hate being forced, but I think we need to go with my plan, Over!" She made a signal to the other girls, and they nodded. The portside hatch slid back a foot, and Ben shot out of it, while Roy moved up beside his mistress.

"And I hate to be forced, as well, but I can see no alternative. Go with your plan, Miss Cob. Boarhound Six, out." Came the UNIT commander's reply.

Charley turned to the two mercenaries. "Okay, you guys wait for the UNIT soldiers, then come back us up." As they both nodded, Charley fidgeted, waiting for Ben to cover the distance to his target. "T-Girl**, **close to one kilometer, please." After several minutes, she smiled slightly, looked at Roy, and nodded. A second later and she was gone. The red skull spun to face each of the team in turn, and they vanished as well. Roy then darted out the hatch, which closed behind him.

Jen turned to Sam, "Okay, let's get the big guns ready, it looks like we might just need them, if all that ..." pointing at the large life sign on the display, "Is full of fangs and teeth!"

0000000000

In the lab room with the large chamber where she had accelerated the pregnancies of Shego and Kim, the Rani heard a short tone issue from her pocket device. She took it out and consulted it. "Hmmm, a Helicopter, no, two, signatures a close, but not exact, match to a military model. Coincidence? I don't think I will chance it. Time to go. After I collect my two young specimens." Rather then take the main entrance, she walked to the back wall, and opened the hidden door into the back passage, entered, and closed it behind her.

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Peeking around the corner of the exit from the cellblock, Shego grimaced and pulled back. "Damn, there are two big ones in the doorway straight across, they must be guarding, or rather, think they are guarding, the babies." Saul popped up besides her, to take a look. He made a beeping noise, then activated his stealth mode, and disappeared into the main passage. "Hmmm, I think a diversion is coming up, Princess, be ready to move."

Moments later, a whistling noise emanated from the room beyond the creatures. Both turned to listen, then moved out of Shego's sight. "Okay, let's go, quick and quiet!" The pair moved as quickly as they could to the main passage entrance, and Shego peered up and down it before waving Kim out. They moved to their right, ducking into the corridor to the storage room.

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Outside, T-Girl adjusted her position so as to have a clear line of sight to the main door. A sensor beam activated, focused on the door, probing the stone and determining certain properties of the material. The data was stored in a new system installed in her at the same time as the internal modifications. She then moved to the clearing where the UNIT Lynxes were going to set down, and descended.

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Coming out of the back passage into the lab, the Rani was entering commands into her device. "That should slow down the military, if it is them." Smiling with satisfaction, she strolled over to the chamber where the two babies were supposed to be, and spotted her two guards inside the room, looking around in confusion. Her smile turned to a scowl, then to a look of shock as she looked down into the now empty chamber. "WHAT! How could they..." She looked at her two creatures, a suspicious look growing on her face, "Or, did you..." Then she shook her head, and brought her control device back up and entered another command. A schematic of the lair came up on it's screen, and she nodded grimly. "They did get out, again! A little kindness...but they really were beginning to reek...No more, time to end this, and get out!"

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Sixteen UNIT troopers, led by a Lieutenant seconded from the Malaysian Armed Forces, had now gathered in T-Girl's central bay. They included two Aussies, one New Zealander, and four Gurkha, among other representatives of the region's nations. Introductions were in progress when an ominous "Uh, Oh!" came from the ship itself. Jen was the first to respond, "What's wrong, Thundagirl**?"**

"An unusual energy field just activated around the gate. Characteristics suggest a combustion and chemical reaction suppression field. I don't believe any explosives or firearms would work within it's field of effect."

"Well, that won't stop our entry, but can she activate a similar field within the whole lair?"

"No idea, but it is possible, Miss Paladin." The Malay Lieutenant, Basim bin Hamad, turned to his men. "Check your bayonets, and other close combat weapons." Half the men were carrying machetes in addition to their bayonets, and the four Gurkha had their _kukri_ fighting blades. Sam checked her _Kama, _to make sure they were secure, but Jen didn't seem concerned. "What about you, Madam?" Basim asked her. "Don't worry, I'll manage." She said, in a calm voice. She gazed speculatively at the weapons rack. "T-Girl, I have a question..."

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Shego and Kim were barely in the storeroom when Saul uncloaked between them, and began to act agitated. "That does not look good." Kim observed. Shego nodded agreement, "We better find the back door, pronto!" It looked like it might be an easy task, only a small part of the rear wall was accessible, the rest being blocked by crates and boxes. It occurred to both women that Amy might have blocked the entrance carelessly, but neither voiced that worry. Fred and Saul began to sweep the exposed sections of the wall.

As they waited, Milly began to get fussy, and became interested in a significant part of Shego's anatomy, even though it was covered. She looked down, and noticed. "Oh, sorry, Milly, I don't have any, I should be surprised you haven't been hungry before!" She looked around at all the crates. "I don't suppose there would be anything here we could feed them?" Kim looked doubtful. "Baby food? I doubt that, though who knows what Amy fed her critters. Juice, maybe, we could...Shego, we have company!" The last was in a low, urgent tone.

Fred let out three beeps from nearby, as Shego focused her attention on the entrance. She sensed some kind of movement, but from where they were standing, they couldn't see very far out. She turned to the black skull, who was tapping his forehead against a spot on the wall. A small rectangular panel was being displaced by the tapping. Shego walked quickly over to it, and pushed on one side, spinning it in place, and revealing a switch. She pressed it, and a door opened inwards a foot to it's left. "Here, Kimmie!" She stuck her head through, rather incautiously, but nothing happened. The door led to a short hallway about five feet long, leading to another passage, a narrow, five-foot wide hallway, at right angles to the first, and dimly lit. Shego moved quickly forward to peer along this new passage, and spotted an opening in the far wall, twenty feet to the left, and what appeared to be a step up, hopefully the bottom one of the exit stairs.

She turned back into the room, and was shocked to see Kim had picked up a tent pole with a pointed end, and was balancing it in her left hand as she backed away from one of the Rani's creatures, just entering the room. Shego moved back to her side. "Here, Kim, take Milly and go, I'll hold them off!"

"NO! Shego, I'd never make it carrying both babies, and we both know it! You take them, and go, please!" Kim pleaded her case even as she held Amy out.

Shego shook her head, "No! We can... the skulls can teleport us up to the top! Give me the baby, and..." The monster was advancing, and a second was visible behind it.

Kim shoved Amy into Shego's arms. "No time, save them, Shego, Please and Thank You!" Shego had to accept the baby, as Kim took the pole in both hands and moved towards the monsters, lunging at them enough to back them off. "Go, Shego!"

Shego actually felt tears in her eyes, a rare occurrence. "Damn You, Possible, don't you die!" She spun and hurried through the door, turning left towards the stairs, and stopped dead. Something horribly familiar was slithering towards her, cresting the top of an incline beyond the stairs, where it sloped down to the room where the Rani stored her TARDIS. Moving rapidly forwards, the huge, Cobra-like snake she had last seen at the Rani's camp in the Yucatan coiled and reared up, head pulling back prior to spitting.

Kim knew she had no chance. Physically, she was weakened by all her ordeals of late. Though she was feeling no ill effects such as nausea or dizziness, she didn't have the stamina for anything strenuous, even with the surge of adrenaline rushing through her. She just hoped to slow the monsters down long enough for Shego to escape. And she hoped that she would die quickly, if the monsters were planning on her being their next meal. "_I don't want to die, but better me...heh, then just about anybody, right, Kim? Drakken may know me better then I know myself, I would rather die then face the guilt of someone else's death, no matter how much I was responsible."_

She made another lunge at the nearest monster, but was forced to back off then, in order not to move into a wide enough space to allow them to gang up on her. The creature lost patience and rushed her, or seemed to. But it was a feint. She lunged to stab it, but it pulled up and batted the point aside, then backhanded her. She lost her grip on the pole as she sailed backwards, slamming into an uneven stack of crates, catching one protruding corner right in the middle ribs. She bounced off and fell to the floor on her back, barely managing to stop from cracking her head on the concrete. "_Damn! Smarter then they look!"_

The lead monster rushed forwards and loomed over her, bending to reach for her...then howling in pain as it's legs suddenly gave way, and it collapsed to it's knees. A howl also burst from it's trailing partner, just before something sliced right through the first monster's neck, decapitating it. Beyond, Kim saw short black hair and silver armor, and beyond that the second monster folding at the waist, sliced open across the abdomen. As it did, the sword in Charley Cob's hands reversed itself, and swept back in an upward angled sweep to take the second beast's head off, too. The girl then spun around the falling monster, changing her grip again to lead with the sword's point, swinging around the dead monster to bury the point into the side of yet another, pushing it halfway through the creature before wrenching it out through the beast's back, severing it's spine.

A fourth advanced, and the girl swung her blade high, left-handed. The beast responded by blocking the blade, but Charley's right hand was what it should have been worrying about. Gripping her pistol, she snapped it up as the monster's guard went high and fired it three times, each shot placed higher then the last, not least because of the recoil from the .50 Magnum rounds, even with the weapon's recoil suppression. The beast jerked backwards under the impacts, then fell, revealing a fifth creature, looking bemused at the three holes in it's own body, before it too fell dead. Kim saw that the first monster had been slashed across it's lower back. "_She got between them, and sliced them both in one spin, but how?" _Then she spotted Saul, hovering over the girl's head, and got it. "_Wow, those little guys are really handy!"_

Shego was raging silently. "_No! Save them, dammit! Never mind me, God, these babies deserve life!" _As the snake's head snapped forwards, Roy appeared in front of Shego, and the air blurred around him as a stream of yellow venom shot from the creature's maw at her. The venom splattered off the blurred space, splashing on either side of the corridor. As the snake reared back to repeat it's attack, something suddenly sprouted in front of it's central eye. The object, the point of a blade, sliced downwards, bisecting the snake to the first coil. More of the yellow venom spilled out, along with some purplish blood, as the snake collapsed, revealing JJ Ko, a blade in each hand. The sounds of gunshots and curses echoed down the stairwell behind her as she stepped towards Shego.

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In a chamber not far away, Ben had found an interesting console. After a brief analysis, he realized it was not the primary defense systems' controls. But one function made him curious, and divining it's purpose, he switched it off.

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"Are you all right, Shego?" JJ was looking at her oddly, between quick checks back down the corridor. She grinned quickly at Roy, who was focussing his attention solely on the two babies.

The former villainess actually smiled as she nodded, then raised one hand, around which green energy formed a sheath. "Probably never been better!" Then she became alarmed, "Kim!" And she turned to dash back into the room, babies and all.

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Standing in the main passage with a bodyguard of her biggest creations, the Rani was shocked to hear gunshots. "_Inside already? How did they bypass the alarms?"_ She was suddenly startled by a loud tone issuing from her control device. "_What? The front door has been breeched? Without explosives?"_

She looked up as she began punching more commands into her controller. "The lot of you! We have intruders at the main door, go deal with them! While I turn the whole menagerie loose, and see how they handle that, before I get out of here!"

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Moments before, T-Girl charged straight at the front door. Thirty feet from it, as Lieutenant Basim prepared to shout to his men to brace themselves, a pulse of energy radiated from the ship's nose, penetrating through the stone door, momentarily altering the binding between it's molecules. And in the next moment, it was mostly reduced to dust, as the sentient ship kept right on going down the passage. Behind her, what hadn't turned to dust reverted to solid stone again.

The eight monsters sent upwards by the Rani were only halfway to the large chamber when their night adjusted eyes saw movement ahead. They slowed from a steady lope to a slow pace, Trying to make out what was ahead. Then they clearly made out the looming bulk of T-Girl, coming right at them after negotiating the turn. "I hope this doesn't go on my insurance!" The ship quipped just before impact.

The Rani looked up as a series of quickly terminated howls echoed from up the passage, and reflexively backed towards the nearest door, the one into Amy's private quarters. Looking towards the disturbance, she suddenly made out T-Girl rushing towards her, a couple of her broken creations still draped on her nose.

Eyes widening in shock, the Rani nevertheless possessed sufficient self control to spin and dash through the doorway, as the ship pulled to an abrupt halt, lowered to the ground, and both side hatches opened. T-Girl had inclined slightly to the left, to insure that there was room for the ramp to drop, but there was still adequate room for the people on board her to deploy through both hatches.

Jen and Sam took the center, moving directly in front of the ship, avoiding as much as possible the remains of her victims, which had fallen clear when she stopped. Basim came up on Sam's left, opposite Jen, and the UNIT troops formed alongside them, save for four who took up positions covering the rear, one pair on each side of the ship. "Sergeant Morant, take four men, start searching these side rooms in turn, start with..." A commotion was building, from somewhere downslope from them. "Cancel that! Check these two rooms..." He indicated the lowermost on each side, "For hostiles, quickly, then two men in each for crossfire." One pair of troopers went for each door, as the rest listened apprehensively to the growing din approaching them. Two more set up Light Support Weapons, and all the rest prepared their assault rifles.

"T-Girl**, **how many?" Jen asked, settling into firing position, and chambering rounds in all three barrels.

"One hundred, Eighty-two different life forms, all different sizes, Miss Paladin, with most of them coming right at us."

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Keeping a wary eye on the entrance, even as she heard T-Girl arrive, Charley turned and hurried back to Kim, securing her weapons. She activated her bracer, dropping to a kneeling position besides the girl, and scanned readouts coming from Fred, who now also hovered around the fallen redhead. "Hi, my name's Charley Cob, Kim. A lot of people are going to be glad to hear you're still breathing ." She frowned, "Mind you, don't breath too hard, you have a fractured rib, there. Also malnutrition, and...you gave birth three months ago?" She gave the girl an incredulous look, "How?"

Kim grinned, "Anything is possible for a Possible!" She frowned slightly, "With the 'help' of a crazy Time Lord, that is." Comprehension suddenly dawned on Charley's face. "Tempusite." she muttered. Just then, Shego entered, babies in both arms, followed by JJ.

"The twins all right, JJ?" Charley asked, hearing gunshots faintly echoing from beyond the new arrivals.

"As long as they don't shoot or chop each others toes off on the stairs, yeah, a few small beasties showed up in the stairwell, right after you 'ported down!" A few words Kim couldn't recognize drifted through the door. JJ's face turned beet red. "Now, Beth is at it!" Charley just snorted as she studied the readings Fred was taking of the babies and Shego. Roy, a few small specks of yellow still on his face, was hovering protectively close to the little girls. Fred suddenly buzzed at him, and he teleported about six inches, losing the venom drops in the process.

"Well, everyone is healthy, and fully human, if there were any doubts." Charley announced. She looked curiously at Shego, "However, these readings don't match what I took of you back in the mountain. I can see some obvious changes, but why?" Before Shego could answer, however, something came over Charley's and JJ's earpieces, from Jen, "Girls, the Rani's let all her pets loose." Charley relayed the news to Shego and Kim, who exchanged horrified looks.

"Great, we needed more monsters!" Said a sarcastic Belle Reeder, appearing in the doorway. She unlimbered her assault rifle.

Charley continued to listen, as T-Girl outlined their enemy's movements, then looked at Belle. "You and Beth head back down that corridor to the bottom, you should reach the chamber where the Rani's TARDIS is parked. Keep her from escaping, but be careful!" Belle nodded, and departed, joining Beth and relaying the orders.

At that moment, a horrendous fusillade exploded in the main passage. As JJ rushed towards the entrance, Charley looked at the former hostages. "Okay, we need to get you four into T-Girl**,** and out of here. Babies first, or, no, One of you, first, so you can keep them from being scared." She looked at Kim, "And I think you're elected."

About to protest, the girl nodded, resignedly. "I can't hold them, not with this rib, though."

Shego looked at her sharply, "Why didn't you say something?" She set the two babies down carefully on one crate. They began to cry, until Roy started bouncing in front of them, distracting them. "Charley, watch them, please." Shego asked.

Confused, Charley divided her attention between the babies and the two women, as Shego knelt by Kim and put her hand on the girl's bare neck. Simultaneous hisses of pain caused Charley to check her bracer's readouts, and her eyebrows climbed in astonishment. "Whoa, not bad, symbiotic healing, or empathetic, not sure which is more..." Suddenly jumping to her feet from her crouch, she spun as she drew her pistol, and fired at a snake poking it's head out from between two crates. Or something resembling a snake, before the bullet hit. Charley circled to look behind the stack it had emerged from. Fred, through who's eyes she had spotted the danger, circled high above her head, scanning. Saul flew out into the main passage to watch over the fight there.

Concerned about the noise scaring the babies, both Kim and Shego looked, to find them still smiling, making noises, or appearing to, at Roy. A shimmer surrounded all three of them. "Sound suppression field, I sometimes needed it to sleep." Charley commented, then made a gesture with her gun towards one pile of crates. "There's some kind of vent..." And something exploded straight through the crates and hit the girl, lifting her off the floor and slamming her into the wall. Blue-white energy flared over most of her body as her armor tried to absorb the force of impact, and her head briefly was obscured as the air blurred around it on impact with the wall. The monstrosity responsible took Kim and Shego's breath away.

It might have begun as an anaconda. Or a garter snake, knowing the Rani. Now it was a solid column of muscle pinning Charley to the wall as it pulled the rest of itself from the wreckage of the crates it had plowed through, coiling itself up as it came. Mottled a hideous shade of purple and bright red, it's head resembled something Shego had seen in a movie once, no eyes, and a four-sided maw, which was open as it grasped Charley.

It pulled her back, and repeated the slam, with a little less force this time, but not much. As it tried again, Charley suddenly vanished from it's grasp, and reappeared slumping to the ground near the babies. Looking up at the monster, the battered girl tried to draw here mace/sword, even as the silver plates vanished, leaving her in just the black bodysuit. Fred zipped in, protectively, though he had no combat capability, the snake was far too big to teleport into the acid, even if one of the other skulls had been in the proper place for it.

Then Shego stepped between Charley and the beast, and Plasma flared around her hands, with a particularly large concentration around the right one. The plasma burned the same clear green as it had before, with a few bright emerald sparks appearing throughout. "My turn, Ugly! Try and take a bite out of me, and hurry, I rarely make this offer!" The creature lunged, mouth opened wide, straight at her, and Shego raised her right fist and shoved it right into the creature's maw, releasing her plasma as she did so. And the first three feet of the thing just vaporized in a green flash, though there was enough of it in motion to still hit the woman and knock her off balance. "That's what I am TALKIN' ABOUT!" She cheered even as she recovered.

Kim scrambled over to Charley. She had slumped against the crates as the monster died. Blood was in her mouth, as both Fred and Roy circled her, eyes flickering. "Shego, she's badly hurt! We need to get her some help, now!" Remotely, she was aware that the firing from the passage had stopped, suddenly.

Charley was barely aware of those words. Her mind was wandering, to the last time she had seen the Doctor. "_There was something in his eyes..." _"Is this it?" she muttered aloud. "Charley, look at me!" came a voice. "_Shego?" _"Charley, please, look at me!" "_polite request, have to..."_ She managed to raise her gaze to look into two sets of worried emerald eyes. "_Not dead, yet!"_ She tried to move her left arm, but just brought pain on herself. "Dislocated shoulder...need to see bracer...put shoulder back, may still need it!" Shego shook her head, "Nothing doing, kid! If you need to see the doohickey, I will show it to you!" Fortunately, removing it from Charley's arm was easy enough. As Fred scanned, Charley tried to focus on the readouts. "Heh, nothing broken, but a lot of cracks!" she spat the blood in her mouth out, "Bleeding has been stopped by the boys, but I'm useless, for now. We...Kim, LOOK OUT!"

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As the first wave of the Rani's creatures came into view, the waiting mercs and soldier's collective jaws dropped. Though dominated by the big, humanoid creatures, there was an assortment of others, as well, reptilian forms both running on legs and slithering on bellies, Insectoids both running and flying, and a few things that had to be crosses between disparate _genus._

One of the approaching humanoids had what appeared to be thick armor plating, so Jen targeted him and gave him a .50 caliber round in his center of mass. The plates were obviously not thick enough. Sam followed with an explosive grenade fired at the ceiling above and behind the first wave, flicked the feed selector for the grenade launcher, and fired two rounds of buckshot straight at them, even as Lieutenant Basim gave the order to open fire. The grenade dislodged several spiders, as well as blasting some winged creatures from the air. Both mercs then cut loose with the twin 5.7mms on their weapon systems, raking the whole crowd back and forth. Ten SA80 assault rifles and two LSWs joined in, and things got very loud, and very messy. The monsters recoiled from the death before them. To the rear, the four men on guard spotted smaller creatures popping out of holes in the walls and ceiling, and began to engage them, mostly on Semi-automatic.

Running out of the storeroom, JJ was swinging her blade back behind her back when it suddenly retracted into the haft. She stopped dead, then groaned. "_Okay, I was mad, but I shouldn't have missed that part of the instructions!" _Disgusted, she put the blade on her back and drew her pistols, stepping into the passage and looking to her left in time to see something that looked like it had begun as a centipede crawling out of the cellblock entrance next up the passage, between the two lines of troopers. She moved forward as she pivoted, to avoid having the rear guard in her line of fire, and blasted the creature with her left hand gun, which was loaded with .40 rounds. "They are coming out of the side rooms, all around defense!" She yelled, barely audible over the cacophony of death. Spinning again, she sent a .50 magnum round from her right hand gun at one of the giants downslope.

And then the guns went silent, all of them.

"Well, this isn't a surprise, is it?" Sam asked, rhetorically. She hit the harness release, and lowered her weapon to the floor, then drew her _Kama_. Jen put her own gun down, then just stood, arms akimbo, waiting. Several clicks sounded as the UNIT men fixed bayonets, or drew machetes or _kukris. _The men in the side rooms came out to join the main group. One soldier offered his machete to Jen Paladin, but she refused it, to the soldier's consternation.

From the darkness, a mocking voice was heard. "Well, time to fix bayonets and give them cold steel, boys. For all the good it will do you!"

Please, read and review.


	13. Battle Won

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, or any of the characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

A small, bulbous blue bug had come up besides Kim. As Charley gasped out her warning, it suddenly projected a sharp spike from it's head, stabbing the girl in her bare foot. "Ow, Dammit!" she cried out. The bug vanished in a flare of green plasma. "Kim, are you okay?" an alarmed Shego asked, as she knelt besides the girl. Fred swept in and targeted the wound.

Charley held her bracer right handed, and tried to make sense of the displays. "No cellular damage is being done, but something is spreading in your system, Kim, doesn't seem to be doing anything yet, but not good." The girl paled. "I think we need to get out of here, we're too vulnerable.." Charley ended with a wince of pain.

"Agreed!" snapped Shego, "Get these little friends of yours working!"

Charley had lost the earpiece from her comm unit when she was attacked, but knew something was wrong. Saul was in the main passage, watching the fight, so Charley could see what was going on. "Something's wrong out there, the soldier's guns aren't working. Fred, get inside T-Girl**, **we need to teleport people inside." The black skull hesitated, then zoomed out the door. "Kim, first, as before, then the babies, then..."

"You, Charley!" said two voices.

"Jinx, you owe me a soda!"

"Possible, you're nuts, you know that?"

Charley was fading in and out. "_Wow, almost worse then the matrix downloads." _Then she saw through Fred's eyes as he slipped inside the ship. "Okay, ready for porting, Go, Roy." The red skull turned away from the babies long enough to target and teleport Kim. Charley watched for a second, bemused at the image from Fred, of Kim making a cradle of her arms. "You guys have done this before?" she asked Shego. Amy went next, then Milly, as soon as Kim was ready. Roy did a quick scan of Charley, then sent her. Shego, meanwhile, went looking for Charley's gun, found it, and the earpiece as well. Turning to Roy, she waved an admonitory finger in his face. "Nope, I have a different plan." She then went out through the back entrance, towards the stairs

She soon caught up with the Reeder sisters, who were fighting their way down the passage towards the room where the TARDIS sat. Because of the narrow corridor, they were alternating in the lead.

In their wake, they had left a litter of the Rani's smaller creations, at first killed by bullets, but now they were wielding their hand weapons in the narrow space, in mace configuration, with pointed studs. "Coming through, girls, coming through!" Shego announced, and slid past them, targeting a blast at something similar to an orangutan, but with several sharp bone ridges lining it's arms, and yet again, a third eye. "If the Rani is planning on using her TARDIS, _I _plan to be there to greet her!"

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Colonel Alexander Owens, UNIT commander by way of the Australian Army, watched the second Chinook settling to the ground. The Lynxes had had to take off to clear enough room for the larger ships, and were seeking another standby position. Landing his command ship before the troop carrying aircraft wasn't exactly by the book, but Owens was in a hurry to get into action. Twelve troopers from his own craft were establishing a perimeter around the clearing, though the Colonel expected no attack from the Rani's beasts out here. Still, when in UNIT...

As the ramp dropped on the second Chinook, he waved two female troopers over. "Sergeant McDonagh, Private Lan, you will have responsibility for the Rani, if she is taken alive, you know the procedures for someone like her?" They both acknowledged with a crisp "Yes Sir!" "Very Well, carry on!" He turned as the leader of the forty troopers disembarking from the second Chinook approached.

"Captain Wells, put eight more men on perimeter, and let's get the rest moving towards the objective. Eyes open for traps and mines, those sensors were damn inconvenient!" The Captain saluted, and turned to get things going. Owens raised his binoculars and studied the distant lair. With the huge hole in it, the main entrance naturally no longer blended in with it's surroundings. "Well, that is impressive! Have to find out exactly who this Miss Cob and her team work for."

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Inside Thundagirl, Charley got the word on the suppression field. "Saul, Fred, get out there and find it, and disable it, Ben should as well." She was sitting on the deck, just outside the aft compartment. Looking around with a puzzled look, she asked, "Why is Shego taking so long?"

Kim finished settling the girls down, after finding some survival blankets in one of the newly installed lockers, and arranging them on the deck.. She looked up suspiciously at Charley's question. " I'll bet I know." She frowned, then shook her head and turned to Charley, "Let's see how badly you're really hurt." She looked critically at the undersuit, blushing slightly. "You could catch a cold, running around in that."

"Not really, it's this that provides all the environmental protection for the armor, it's good for as low as minus 20 Fahrenheit on it's own."

Kim's eyes widened slightly, but concern dominated her face. "Oh, Sorry not to do this earlier, but Thanks for coming after us, Charley." Through Charley's suit, she could clearly see signs of massive bruising developing.

"It's not a problem, Kim, it's what we do. Thank You for taking care of me, here, I seem to be having a run of bad luck, lately."

"No Big, Charley. Uh, do you know if Ron's all right? I heard he had a fight with the Rani?"

"Yeah, and he kicked her backside, or at least, he and Rufus took care of seven of her creatures."

Kim's eyes widened. "Seven? Of the big ones?"

"No, five of the big ones, two spiders. Ron set up some traps at the house you were hiding at, and the Rani's creatures walked right into them, to hear him tell it."

Kim smiled, "Well, not to cast aspersions on Ron's honesty, but he rarely gives himself full credit for the important things. Booby traps around the house, eh? Sounds like a movie, one of Ron's favorites, in fact."

Charley smiled faintly, then looked at her left arm. "Can you reset a dislocated shoulder, Kim?" Charley asked. Kim nodded, but frowned,"Do you really want to do that, Charley?" The girl nodded, "Never know what I may have to do, always a bad policy to ignore the unexpected. Can't take any chances that you might start suffering symptoms from whatever that bug injected you with."

Kim grimaced, it actually bothered her more to do this on another person then to do it to herself, or have it done. "Okay, and sorry in advance."

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"T-Girl, it's a bit dark in here, could you fix that?" JJ spoke, stepping up beside Jen. "Certainly, JJ!" replied the ship.

Where previously the ship had been kept dark, during the run in, she now lit up brightly, with both her navigation lights and a battery of floodlights, four forward, two aft, and two broad beams to either side. The brightness caused the again attacking creatures to recoil, and revealed the Rani in their midst. Eyes quickly adjusting to the brightness, the Rani's gaze swept her foes, and then locked on JJ, in her gold-on-red armor. A look of shock flashed across her features. "_A Knight Valkyr, here? They won't be formed for..." _"DOCTOR!" She positively howled. Her face now seethed with rage, "You're responsible for this, I just know it!" She stared venomously at JJ. "One of you is not going to be enough, little girl!"

"How about four, then!" Came a voice now climbing to the top of the Rani's hate list. She whirled, looking back down the passage, and could just make out Shego, flanked by the Reeder sisters, behind her horde. As she looked, green fire blazed around Shego's hands. "_Why did I linger to taunt them! I am such a fool, to follow such impulses!" _Suddenly, a flash of pain hit her, from her own chest. She smelled something burning, and looked down to meet the gaze of a small, blue metal skull, hovering in front of her. But of more immediate concern was the smoldering remains of her amulet, which kept the monsters surrounding her from...her head snapped up in horror, as some of the beasts turned on her, even as the rest charged in both directions, towards their nearest perceived enemies.

"Here we go again!" JJ shouted as she drew her melee weapons, which promptly took blade form. Other battle cries rang out, and the bloodshed began. She vaguely heard screams coming from somewhere among the monsters, but had no time to worry as she went into a fight routine, and monsters began to come apart around her like in a scene from an _anime. _

With the Reeders on her flanks, Shego began blasting and slashing her way into the horde, trying to reach the target of her anger. "_Almost wish I hadn't had my brain rewired, now. Would have been the perfect excuse for what I intend to do to that bitch!" _She heard Belle cry out, as one giant got past her guard and knocked her sprawling. Shego twisted and blasted the thing in the face. Though not full force, the blast was enough to unbalance the creature, and allow Belle to regain her feet and finish it. Shego turned back just in time to see one of the centipedes rushing her. Saving her Plasma, she executed a perfect stomp, crushing it's skull, and passed on to the next foe.

Sam McCarron took on a seven footer, diving under it's swing and hamstringing it with her left hand _Kama_, then jumping high and bringing her right hand weapon down into the base of it's neck. A gout of blood shot out, and the mercenary spun away. A strangled scream came from her left, and she turned to see a nine foot giant with it's back to her, dropping a broken UNIT trooper. She charged.

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In the ship, with all hatches now shut, and Roy now aboard, Charley had winced when Shego appeared behind the monsters. "No, no, no! Now, if we get the guns working, they'll have to be careful not to hit each other...Ben? What the...No! Ben, please, get her in here!" As Kim looked on in puzzled alarm, Roy swept to the center of the bay, and what was left of the Rani materialized and collapsed to the deck. Kim almost gagged at the sight, but she also started immediately towards the woman. Charley was right behind her, tears welling in her eyes from the pain as she dragged herself across the deck.

"Hold on, we can save you!" Kim told the Rani. Though all of the Time Lord's parts were present, one arm was so badly savaged that Kim saw no hope for it, and she had also suffered terrible wounds to her abdomen and both legs. Her face was torn to pieces on one side, with most of her ear missing. Roy swooped in, and began to repair the damaged blood vessels, but this alone was a herculean job, the Rani was bleeding from a dozen places, a spreading pool of blood around her, in which Kim already knelt.

"No! I won't live like this! Let me...regenerate!" Kim's brow furrowed at the gasped demand.

Charley pulled herself up to the Rani. "All right, but I want to know how to turn off the field preventing the guns from working!"

The Rani shifted her eyes to the dark haired girl, taking in the black bodysuit. "Or what?"

Charley grimaced. "Nothing, I'll let you regenerate! But, you aren't going anywhere, are you? And, who's between you and your creations, right now?" The Rani coughed, or maybe tried to laugh, it was hard to tell. Then, she spoke in a language Kim had never heard. Charley reached into what was left of the Rani's coat pocket, and pulled out her control device. After a moment's study, she tapped a command in. Alarm rising, Kim kept looking from the apparently dying woman to this strange girl. Then, her eyes locked on the Rani, as the woman began to glow...

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Sam McCarron swung her left hand _Kama_ as high as she could, lodging it in the back of the monster, then heaved her self up by it, as the monster howled in agony, and stabbed the tip of her right hand weapon's blade into the back of it's neck. As she pulled it back out, her right arm was seized by another beast, who pulled the blond merc towards it. Pulling the left hand weapon out as she went with the pull, Sam reversed the point and drove it into her new opponent's forearm. It released her, but the _Kama_ was jammed between the two bones in it's forearm, and Sam had to relinquish her grip to drop to the ground on her feet. Staggering back, the beast squashed a spike armed spider. With the beast off balance, Sam whirled and kicked it hard in one knee, and felt bones break. As it fell on it's back, she leaped onto it's chest, and drove her remaining blade straight through it's forehead.

Another monster lunged in from her right, but one UNIT trooper met it with a bayonet, while another hacked into the back of it's knee with a machete. As it collapsed, the first trooper pulled out his bayonet and drove it in again, this time through the creature's throat. One of the Gurkha, meanwhile, was busy splitting spiders with is _kukri_, when one of the tentacled ones got past his guard. As he convulsed on the ground, a snakelike creature reared up to strike, only to be lopped off short by Sam's _Kama, _as the machete-armed trooper finished the spider off.

Behind them, Lieutenant Basim and the tallest UNIT trooper, a lanky Australian, tried to fend off several weird creatures with bat-like wings and long proboscis. The paired troopers who had been guarding the rear were now back-to-back on their respective sides of the ship, fighting desperately against several of the smaller creatures.

In the middle, right in front of T-Girl's nose, Jen Paladin faced a charging creature at least eight and a half feet tall. She held one of the Variable Bore rifles from the ship's weapon rack. "_Yes, there are extra rifles, Miss Paladin, and I can now authorize anyone to use_ _them, if I see fit to do so. And yes, you may! As to your second question, I'm afraid I don't know." _If she understood the principle correctly, this should work. If not, she was very dead. As the creature lunged to point-blank range, she fired the under-barrel FKIP, which promptly caved the creature's ribcage in as it hurled it away from her.

Jen smiled grimly as she heard JJ's voice from her right, where she was working her blades against foes high and low. "Something better swing this fight our way soon, though!"

Two things, in fact, did just that. The first was from T-Girl, "Firearms are back in business, everyone! Try not to hit any friendlies!" The words were hardly finished when Jen opened up on semi-auto, aiming high at the monster's heads, and over the humans. The height advantage for the big monsters suddenly became a disadvantage. Sam dodged claws while unlimbering her coach gun, and fired both barrels into her nearest enemy, easily aiming high enough to avoid hitting any friendlies. JJ didn't switch weapons, continuing to hack and slash

At the rear of the horde, both Reeders drew their pistols, while still wielding their blades, and began using the weapons in combination. The news meant nothing to Shego, who had been blasting and slashing with speed and precision, and simply continued doing so. She was simply having the time of her life, it seemed, sending a blast into one target's face, ripping through the vitals of a second, and stomping another bug like the one that had stung Kim, all at the same time. She still couldn't spot her prey, though, and was really taking her frustration at that out on the beasts. Something swooped at her head, but before she could react, whatever it was flew apart as Beth blasted it out of the air. Even as Shego nodded quickly to the girl in acknowledgment of the save, she berated herself for getting _too _focused on the Rani. "_Not going to get to her, if you let one of these monstrosities get you first, idiot!"_

The second occurrence was a transmission that suddenly came over Lieutenant Basim's radio. "Spearpoint, this is Boarhound Six, main party entering complex, how far in are you?"

Drawing his sidearm and taking a careful shot at another centipede, Basim keyed his own microphone, "Six, this is Spearpoint, under close assault here, we are outside the six rooms, request immediate reinforcement. Be advised, some small creatures may be between you and us."

"Acknowledged, Spearpoint, we'll be with you shortly!"

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Kim suddenly felt something odd in her head. As she raised one hand to feel her temple, pain shot through her whole arm. A sharp cry burst from her lips, distracting Charley from the regenerating Rani. "Kim!" Roy turned his attention to the girl, while Charley tried to follow the readings. She had replaced her bracer on her left arm, and it was a struggle to move it. "Dammit!, your pain centers are being activated by any motion you make! That damn bug must have done it, obviously, and I can't do a thing about it!"

"You...you have...the cure...at that house...of yours." As Kim struggled to just hold still, she couldn't stop her jaw from dropping as she looked at the Rani. The gray eyed, black haired woman was gone, replaced by a green-eyed, hard faced blond. She had also lost a few inches, in more places then one, and gained a couple in others. There were no wounds at all on her, and her shredded clothes barely counted as decent. The woman looked barely aware of her surroundings. "Should only take...one treatment with that...medicine you used before."

"How...OW!" Trying to move her arm again, Kim couldn't stop an instinctive reaction to the pain, and only piled more on. In moments, she found herself gasping on the floor, trying to remain immobile. Charley, in barely better shape, looked up. "T-Girl, tell the Lieutenant that the Rani is in here, and we need a guard for her!" Not that it was an immediate concern, the Time Lord was obviously not recovering too quickly from her regeneration.

Moments later, the port hatch slid back, and two troopers came in. The hatch slammed shut behind them violently, and both whirled to see half a snake creature fall to the deck. One was a stocky, sandy haired Aussie with corporal's stripes. He looked incredulously at the blond lying in the pool of blood, before he remembered his briefing on Time Lords. "How did she get in here, and who roughed her up badly enough to make her change?"

"I got her in here." Charley replied, "And her own creatures did it to her. She had a device that kept them from touching her, but it...malfunctioned." Her voice dropped as she finished. Her attention was fully on Kim, so she didn't notice the attention her clothing was attracting from the two soldiers. "Don't take your eyes off her, though, it could be fatal." And that worked just fine to return their attention where it belonged.

"_Why did Ben do that? I mean, he has his own personality, but I never thought...and why did I briefly feel...relief ...when he did it, but now feel like something is wrong, from the moment we saved her?" _Charley shrugged off those thoughts, she needed to focus on the people who needed her. Fred and Saul were showing her the fighting outside, men being wounded, and killed, she had to get out there...but she couldn't, her body wouldn't obey her. Tears of frustration ran down her face, as she tried to concentrate on Kim's problem.

Five minutes later, the hatch reopened, and McDonagh and Lan entered and relieved the the two male guards, to their chagrin. Charley had made Kim as comfortable as she could by then. Moving the girl didn't cause pain, only her own attempts to use her muscles did. And she was trying to move, because both babies were fussing, and Roy wasn't enough to calm them. "Get Shego in here, whether she wants to or not, please, Charley?" Kim practically pleaded, her own face streaked with tears. And that was all Charley basically needed as inspiration.

Charley nodded, even as she forced herself upright. The silver plates of her armor reappeared, and Kim's eyes widened. "Charley, what are you doing?" The girl looked down at Kim, "There are injured out there, I have to help them." They held each other's gaze for a moment, then Charley went to the starboard hatch. It didn't open. "T-Girl, let me out, please don't make me order you." After a moment, the ramp dropped, and Charley carefully walked out."_Sorry, Kim, but putting Shego and the Rani in the same space right now wouldn't be smart, please forgive me!"_ As soon as her eyes lit on one of the casualties, however, she went straight to him, forgetting her thoughts, as Fred swooped in to assist her.

The two UNIT women pulled the Rani from the blood pool, and methodically began to strip off the remnants of her clothing, while pulling a pair of bright white coveralls from Lan's pack. McDonagh used her canteen's water to wash as much blood off her prisoner as she could, before they began to dress her. The Rani's face was a mixture of emotions, but she stayed silent.

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Shego stalked among the dead, both beast and human. Five UNIT troopers from Spearpoint were dead, and four more badly hurt. One of the new arrivals had also managed to get killed, she didn't hear how. But there was no sign in the carnage of the Rani. Shots echoed as the troops swept through the place, killing off the remaining monsters. She spotted the two mercenaries standing by T-Girl's nose, Jen wrapping a bandage around her partner's right forearm. Paladin herself had some serious slashes in her body armor, but there was no blood visible. JJ and the Reeders were somewhere, helping with the hunt. "_Where did that bitch escape to?"_ Shego raged silently. Then she spotted Charley kneeling besides one of the wounded, talking to a UNIT medic. And one possibility occurred to her.

"Bleeding has been stopped, and your anti-venom is working fine." Charley was saying as Shego approached. "He's going to need quite a bit of surgery, I'd put him on your first evacuation flight, if I were you." The medic nodded, as Charley spotted Shego. "Oh, I forgot! Sorry, but Shego, you need to get in the ship, and take care of the little ones, Kim is incapacitated." Conflict warred on Shego's face. The girl wasn't just kneeling, she was leaning on the wall, and was as pale as Shego had ever seen her, with a sheen of sweat covering her forehead. Compassion won out over vengeful thoughts. "Charley, you need to get back on the ship, too, let me take you."

The girl shook her head, but the medic spoke up. "She's right, Miss Cob. You've done all you can for our wounded, you need to take care of yourself. Consider that Doctor's Orders, if you must." The girl looked defiant for a moment, then sagged a little, and nodded. Shego almost took her by the left shoulder to help her up before she remembered the injury. So she hooked one arm under the girl's right armpit, and helped her up.

As they approached the lowered ramp, four people emerged. A man wearing a UNIT Colonel's uniform, followed by a woman flanked by two female guards. The woman wore coveralls, and Shego didn't recognize her. Yet, they were treating her as a prisoner. So far as Shego knew, the Rani had been alone here, except for DNAmy, before they had arrived. "_She must have had an assistant, but that doesn't make sense! Of course, we never explored the whole place." _The Colonel spotted Charley, and stepped towards her. "Miss Cob?" The prisoner's head jerked up, and she stared at the girl.

Charley tried to stand without Shego's help, but was too unsteady. "Yes, Sir."

"I want to thank you for all your assistance, of course, and inform you that everything connected to this affair is to remain Top Secret. Since this notice is issued by a United Nations organization, it applies within the borders of all member nations." He then relaxed slightly, and smiled. "Now that that bit is out of the way, Good Job, young lady!" He gave her a snappy salute, before turning back to lead the prisoner's escort up the passage. Something he said obviously pleased Charley, as a faint smile appeared on her face.

Shego was about to ask who the woman was, when Charley spoke first. "Is there anything here you need to recover? If not, I really think we have to get going." Shego hesitated while taking in the look of the girl's face, "_Definitely needs a doctor to look at her, best get her back to Eliana."_ "I just want a shot at the Rani, I don't understand how she got..." as they stepped up on the ramp, she spotted the pool of blood on the deck. "Oh, God, who's is that!" She almost dragged the girl up the ramp. She relaxed when she spotted Kim propped up in one corner, sitting in a 'nest' of blankets, the babies close to her.

But when the girl turned to look as Shego, she couldn't hide the wince that drove the smile from her face. "Hey, Shego, I really think we need to get these little ones something to eat, having a hard time keeping their minds off their tummies."

"Kim...here, Charley, sit right here. Kim, what's the matter, what did that poison do to you?"

Kim sighed "It apparently was meant as an immobilizing agent. It works by simply making it too painful for the victim to move. And unless it's countered, it will last four or five days. One of the doctor's gave me something that dulls it, but he had to give me something pretty strong, so I can't keep taking it. But, the Rani said Doctor Pharm's medicine will get rid of it, probably in a single treatment."

"THE RANI! Where is she? What do you mean, _she_ said, and how could you trust her, anyway?" Shego regretted the outburst immediately, both for it's effect on Kim, who recoiled, and suffered for it, and the babies, who started crying. Despite the pain, Kim reached up to take hold of them both, as Shego dropped to her knees and also tried to soothe them. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, please don't cry, I won't yell again." She looked at Kim, "Sorry Princess, but I still want to know, how can you trust her?"

"Because we saved her life." Shego's eyes almost popped out. Kim used her eyes to indicate the blood pool, "That's all hers, Shego. But something weird happened, she called it 'regeneration', she turned into an entirely different woman, a blond." Suddenly noting the rising color in the thief's face, Kim began to regret saying anything. "You can't do anything now, Shego! She's in UNIT's custody, let them have her!" Shego didn't appear to be listening to Kim, and turned towards the open hatch. At which point, Milly voiced her distress over her hungry state. Shego's head snapped around in response, the anger fading, replaced by concern. She went quickly to the baby, kneeling and picking her up, trying to soothe her. She looked Kim in the eyes, and shrugged, "Well, I guess I owe her one, for Milly."

Kim smiled weakly back, "Guess we both do, at that." Despite the pain, she pulled Amy into her lap and cradled her.

Charley spoke to Thundagirl, "Signal the girls to come back, T-Girl**, **and Jen and Sam, as well."

"We're already here." came Jen's voice from behind her.

Charley turned, too quickly, and swayed a bit. The two mercenaries were setting their heavy weapons down just inside the hatchway. Charley noticed the dressing on Sam's arm. "Oh, that's going to be a problem." The most obvious, and vexing, drawback to T-Girl's method of travel was the inability to 'jump' with someone seriously injured, bandaged or even stitched up, aboard.

Jen nodded. "Thought it might, but it won't be. We're catching a ride with UNIT, want to drop in on some acquaintances down in Singapore, just came aboard to get our other clothes." Jen gestured to the weapons. "Like you to drop these off at the ranch, but call first, we want to be there, so Abe doesn't start anything without us." She then walked over to the weapons rack, and replaced the rifle she had borrowed, and the spare clips. She looked at the gun and shook her head. "Real nice toys you get to play with, Charley. Come visit sometime, but call ahead." She looked at the foursome on the blankets, "Kim, Shego." she looked at the babies, "And whoever, I don't think I want to know right now, there is only so much one can take in one day." Sam snorted in derision behind her, earning a glare, then, gathering their civilian clothes, the two exited.

"Did anyone from UNIT ask about the babies?" Shego asked. Charley shook her head, "Not yet, another reason to make our departure swift, I think." As if on cue, the other three members of her team entered. Not having known about her injuries, they were immediately concerned by her appearance. "Now what did you do to yourself, Charley?" JJ asked. The girl grinned weakly back. "Oh, met something too big to just shoot. And got careless, again." JJ just gave her a skeptical look, "Bet any odds you're being too hard on yourself. So, we leaving? Few more small critters to find." All four skulls were now aboard, with Roy hovering over the babies, and Ben hiding in the cockpit, from Charley.

"Yeah, well, these small critters," Shego indicated the babies, "Are hungry, and nothing is around to suit them." That started things moving quickly. Kim and Charley were assisted into the rear compartment. "I think we should put these two in the horizontal tubes." Beth said, pointing to the pair at the rear of the compartment, "And the babies in the two smaller ones, at the top. Put them down at the last moment, they'll fuss." JJ and Belle were already getting Charley out of her suit. Shego winced when she got a clear view of the girl's torso, which was turning many different colors it wasn't meant to. "What, we have to be naked?" Beth nodded, and Shego threw up her hands, "Getting to be too much of a habit for me, lately." She looked out at the main bay to see that the hatches were already closed, and began removing her greens, only now realizing quite how badly tattered they were, and stained with various fluids. "Yuck! Maybe this isn't such a bad idea."

Kim was a bit embarrassed to need assistance undressing, but memories of locker rooms helped deal with all the flesh soon on display. No one, it seemed had gotten off Scott-free, all three of the other girls had developing bruises on their bodies. Charley was gently placed in the lower tube by Beth and Shego, who then helped Kim into the upper one, both tubes retracting into the bulkhead. JJ and Belle placed the babies in the half-tubes above them, before taking their places. Shego just had time to ask, "Is this going to hurt at all?" and Milly and Amy just started to really cry...

And the UNIT troopers in the passage spun to look in astonishment at the empty space where Thundagirl had been. Lieutenant Basim and the Captain Wells both looked at each other, then the latter spoke, "What agency did those people work for again? I rather think someone has stolen a march on us."

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	14. Lessons

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, or any of the other characters from that show, or any other media I may reference in my stories.

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Charley Cob felt her body settle back onto the cushion in her tube. She waited for a few moments, expecting the compartment to become bedlam. Then she noticed that she was feeling no pain in her chest, and she should have been. Turning her head, she saw the others still in their tubes, unmoving. "_Now what? And why me, again?"_

She heard one of Thundagirl's hatches opening. A male voice spoke, "My Apologies for this inconvenience, Madam!" Charley felt like reality was being bent. "_Is he talking to the ship? Well, why not?" _The owner of the voice bustled into the after compartment. He was a smallish man, wearing a brown jacket and trousers, with a striped waistcoat. He had sort of beady eyes, with bushy black eyebrows, but a big smile on his face. And Charley knew him, though she hadn't exactly met him. Her brow furrowed in consternation.

"Hello, Charley." He flipped the switch to extend her tube from the bulkhead. He knelt and looked her in the eyes. "Charley, do you trust me?" The girl only hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Good, you need to come with me, there is something we have to do quickly, your life depends on it." He helped her upright as gently as possible, then produced a white robe of some kind she hadn't even seen in his hands, and wrapped her in it. "Okay, Now listen to me. You can't feel any pain right now, but you still have the same injuries, so we must be careful! Now, come along." And he led her out of the ship.

Behind them, a shimmer of light appeared around the immobile Shego...

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Shego blinked, several times, at the sight before her. "Doctor Cardien?" It looked like her therapist, just as she last saw her. Fiftyish, short dark hair with a good deal of gray, fit, casual dress, the obviously once broken nose she must have had sufficient money to have had fixed. Basically, a little bit butch. But, Shego also remembered the first words out of her mouth when the reluctant thief had entered her office. "_But, believe it or not, happily married, five kids, one of whom gave me this.." indicating her nose, "and I keep it so they remember that, every time they see me." _Right then, Shego decided she could work with this woman. But, was this her in front of her?

"Of course not, Ana." Said the woman. "I'm a member of a race of extraterrestrial beings, I just chose this form to speak with you, since it is appropriate for what we have to discuss. I previously met you in the guise of Doctor Morrisey."

Shego's eyebrows rose as she eyed the woman warily. The setting for their meeting appeared to be your standard empty white room. "_Another cliché, getting sooo sick of them!" _, Shego was wearing a green robe, and sitting in a folding metal chair. "_Not even a first-class fantasy, eh?"_

"First I want to apologize personally for not intervening in any way during your captivity, we could not afford to reveal our presence to the Rani. Of course, this is hardly the first time we've been so reticent."

Shego stared incredulously at the woman, or whatever. "Huh? What, have you had me under round-the-clock surveillance, or something?"

"Well, such would have been within our mandate, Ana. You see, we agreed to accept this task several decades ago, to monitor and record the affects of any contact between man and extraterrestrial life. And, as you already have had hinted to you, your powers came from such a source."

Shego waved her hand dismissively "Yeah, yeah, I heard it from the Rani, some race trying to make heroes, in order to make mankind feel indebted to them, or something."

"Exactly! This may work best if I explain their methods. To start with, they needed a mentor, or leader, for the group they wanted to establish. He was not necessarily meant to be a nice man, since he was expected to be dedicated to making sure that the 'heroes' he controlled were absolutely lawful, and did nothing shameful, or that would discredit themselves in the public eye. To do that, he was given three tools. One, you know of, the Scepter. If one member of the group was intractable, he could take their powers away, and bestow them on another candidate, but only as a last resort."

"Now, the second 'tool', you also know about, watch this." And a vision appeared before Shego, a man in a room, with a blanket covered object on the table in front of him. There was another man with his back to Shego, but she took little notice. She only had eyes for the first man. "Tom Frailey! He and his sick uncle sold children from the orphanage to that sicko Macheles!"

"But look what is beneath the blanket, Shego." Simultaneously with those words, Tom Frailey pulled the blanket off the object, which seemed to take a moment to come into focus, and Shego's eyes bulged. "The Attitudinator! How the hell...Wait, that other guy works for Henchco, doesn't he? This is how they got it, but how did Tom get it?" She tried to judge how old Tom was. "_Nineteen or twenty, about when I was...Hell, no!"_

"He found it in the wreckage of the tree house, after the 'comet' hit, Ana. You see, in it's original form, this item could imprint a suggestion in a person's mind to behave in a certain way. Basically, to behave in a lawful, or unlawful manner." She appeared to draw a deep breath. "Now, let me show you the people who were supposed to get those powers, and their mentor."

The vision shifted to five young people standing in an open area outdoors. Shego guessed it was Clouseau Park, in Go City. "Did they pick them based on looks?" They were certainly a fit and healthy looking group, all in their late teens, maybe their very early twenties. Also rather PC in their make-up, as well.

"As a matter of fact, aesthetically pleasing people _were_preferred. Now, the race responsible had many flaws in their planning. First, their means of psychiatric evaluation was not always tailored to individual races as well as it should have been. Therefore it was very possible that their choices for mentors or heroes could be bad. Now, the third 'tool' was not an object but a power usable in the 'field', something to keep inappropriate emotions from running away with the 'heroes', by turning such emotions into something more constructive." Shego's eyes narrowed, dangerously. Apparently unconcerned, the woman before her continued, "And in the case of the chosen mentor for this group, well, they _really _screwed up!" And the image shifted it's perspective to show a man standing apart from the would be heroes, watching them from the shadow of a nearby tree.

Shego started shaking her head,"No, No, No!" She slammed one fist against the wall, with no effect on either wall or fist. "You mean to tell me, those idiots who gave me my powers, also gave Macheles his!!"

The woman was nonplussed by the show of anger. "They are to blame for that, yes. Their screening for psychic potential was poor, too, they never meant to give that power to someone who would eventually be able to 'influence' a hundred people at once, individually, with no strain. But, they are _not_ responsible for you receiving your powers. That, you can blame on the United States Air Force."

"Oh, Yes, I heard about that, from Doctor Morrisey! An F-16 shot at a UFO, and it crashed into our tree house, except that is as much nonsense as a comet hitting it!"

The woman nodded. "Well, it didn't crash into your treehouse, no, but hovered next to it, carrying out it's programmed function until it exploded . It was supposed to empower those five you saw earlier, and make a great show of it. Theatricality played a big role in these beings' plans. When the drone was damaged, it tried to carry out it's function on it's own, which means it's control link was severed. It searched for a group of humans that met certain criteria. And you and your 'brothers' were the first it found. As it discharged the power matrix into you, it exploded, and the two items that were still meant to be delivered to Mister Macheles were ejected. It was actually the force of that explosion that caused your tree house to collapse, and fall from the tree. The power itself didn't do that."

"And the Attitudinator ended up in the tree house wreckage, while the scepter flew how far?"

"Almost a mile, actually."

"And Tom sold the machine to Henchco, who found out how to make it work." When the woman only shook her head, Shego quirked an eyebrow, "What?"

"As I told you as Doctor Morrisey, they never figured out how to make it work. Henchco took some of the parts out, and couldn't reassemble it properly. They had to substitute human-made parts, which made some functions completely inoperable. They managed to trigger _one _function, which they were able to duplicate. Then Electronique found out how to broadcast that effect at range. And that function basically convinced the subject to act contrary to their normal nature, as regards lawfulness, until they were 'zapped' again. IN addition, it could establish the target as a 'dominant', or a subordinate, hence allowing the creation of heroes and sidekicks, or villains and henchmen."

Shego paced a bit, arms folded tightly across her chest, a grim look on her face. "Okay, what gave me the 'evil' mindset, the Power, or the Attitudinator?"

"Ah, that will take some explaining..."

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"Where are we going, Doctor?" Charley asked, as they moved through a series of short, criss-crossing corridors.

"Just trying to confuse the Matrix, Charley. We have to break the link between you and it before it kills you." Came the reply.

"You mean, the downloads _are_ dangerous?"

"They are, if the Matrix keeps forcing them into you so often! And it has no compunction against continuing to do so, to carry out whatever plan it has in motion! You see, there are a lot of things going on here that you are not aware of...nor me, for that matter! Ah, here we are, Charley!" He indicated a door. Passing through, they found a room, empty save for a table which bore an uncomfortable resemblance to an autopsy table. "Now, lay down here, Charley, but be careful! Now, tell me that you're going to have those injuries dealt with, when you leave here." His voice and look were stern, as he looked the girl in the eye.

Charley nodded, "Of course, As soon as everyone is safe, I..."

"Charley!" the Doctor wagged a finger in her face, "As a former medic, you should know what 'Triage' means. Take care of the worst injured, first!" He looked off into one dim corner of the room, the internal dimensions of which Charley found hard to judge. A shadowy figure stood there, but no details were visible. "No more time for talk, Charley, have to get working!" He patted her arm, "Don't worry, I'll look after you."

0000000000

The setting was intimately familiar to Kim, even if it had been rendered slightly surreal. A classroom, right out of Middleton High. Senior home room, in fact. Except it was all in white, and light gray for contrast. Looking at herself, she found herself wrapped in a white terrycloth robe, a very thick and heavy one. "_Never wore one of these to school, weird dream I'm having here."_ Then she looked to her right, and saw the three girls who had come to her rescue with Charley Cob. They were dressed the same, and looked around in puzzlement. The redheaded Asian girl opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

"Listen up, People!" Kim's head snapped around to behold what appeared to be Mister Barkin, standing at the front of the room. She squeezed her eyes shut, and shook her head, before looking again. "_Okay, Awkweird to the max!"_"In answer to your question, you are not really here, this is just a convenient construct within which to communicate with you! And no, Miss Possible, I am obviously not Steven Barkin! Again, this is a convenient form in which to communicate."

He drew himself up, and surveyed the 'class' for a few moments, then continued, "I am one of the Ar'Ithane, the race, Miss Possible, who's descendants apparently provided these young ladies with all their fancy equipment. Well, except for Thundagirl, who was actually built by human hands." Kim looked at the other girls, and saw them paying rapt attention to Mister Barkin. "Since their arrival in this time frame, we have had them under nearly continuous surveillance, and made some discoveries about their equipment. Among other things, We have found that the technology used in the creation of your ship has a current analogue, which seems to be the basis for her design."

"That's not a big surprise." Belle Reeder commented, "We know for a fact that the scientist in question was once involved in a project to study and back-engineer technology from 'dead' races. But he built T-Girl on his own, after breaking off, or being fired, from that project."

"Hmm, 'dead' races you say? How unfortunate." 'Barkin' shook his head sadly. "He must have been under some limitations, financial or otherwise, because to be honest the ship is not as tough as the ones that currently exist and are being used by the race in question, who we will call 'the Cadres' for convenience." He thought for a moment, then nodded. "So, _we _will transform her, bring her up to the standards of the Cadres' current technology. No more need to reinforce her hull with a forcefield, the hull by itself will be stronger then the combination she uses now. Now, there may be more...let me consult with my colleagues."

He then appeared to literally 'freeze' for over a minute, before unfreezing and smiling at them all. "We have decided to provide you with other technology that may prove useful to you! Yes, Miss Ko?"

"Why isn't Charley here? She needs to know these things, too."

"Miss Cob had a more important matter to attend to, I assure you. It might be that she will join us before the end of our class, though that is doubtful. In that case, you four will have to bring her up to speed." "_Us four?" _Kim thought, "_How am I involved?" _Then deciding there was no point not simply asking..."Why am I included here, not that I'm necessarily complaining, mind you."

"Probably because Charley is going to ask you to be our new leader." Belle replied. Beth nodded in agreement. JJ spun in her seat to look at them, then began to nod, herself, comprehension growing on her face.

Kim was startled, to put it mildly. "I don't understand, why me, and why a new leader, at all?"

"You have to ask Charley, she made this decision. She didn't tell us, but we have known her long enough to figure things out. She definitely has put herself under too much strain trying to be our leader, but that is more due to her personality, then actual necessity." Beth replied this time. "She's a good leader, but it doesn't come to her naturally, she has to make the effort."

'Barkin' spoke up again, addressing Kim. "For the moment, Miss Possible, whether you accept the role or not, you will receive one of these items. Specifically, more of the skulls that Miss Cob describes as her boys. And Miss Whitlock may receive one as well, that will be her choice."

"Shego will get one? I...well, I hope you know what you're doing."

"We believe that we do, Miss Possible. Now, the new ones will be colored Gold, which we will let Miss Ko name, Green, which I believe I will let Miss Whitlock name, and lastly, white, for Miss Possible to name. They will have all the abilities of the first four."

"Now, as to the weapons we provided previously. First, you will retain the firearms you now have, the Variable Bore weapons. The ability to make non-lethal attacks with them will not be given to you. A gun is a lethal weapon on Earth, And it symbolizes a certain level of violence. Carry them when necessary, and use them likewise."

Kim frowned at this, she didn't want firearms of any kind on her Team, but...maybe she was being a little naive She would have to talk to some people about her feelings. For now, she made no comment.

"Now, we may have to wait some time before this class is 'dismissed'. You may talk freely among yourselves, but keep it dignified if you please."

0000000000

"Why am I not surprised?" Shego remarked sourly.

'Doctor Cardien' smiled, "I'm sorry that things are this complicated, but I'll try and hurry this up. You see, the 'power' as you experienced it, was a complex program, designed to ask a series of questions, some as ritual, some actually important to how things turned out for you. However, the program was damaged, and was unable to deal with your initial answers, which were incorrect."

"Incorrect? How could they be incorrect? The only questions I remember are those first ones, 'What do you want to be?', and 'What do you need to be?'"

"And, what was the correct answer, Ana?" When Shego only shrugged helplessly, "Come now, Henry got it right, the first time."

Shego's brow furrowed in concentration. "Henry got it right?"

Cardien let out an exasperated sigh. "Shego, remember, these beings were trying to turn a bunch of idealistic young people into heroes. They primed them into believing they could be, and intended to stage a 'realistic' event where they would receive their powers. The event was meant to match their expectations, so it included ritual. As I said, those first two questions were part of the ritual, and both had the same answer."

Shego closed her eyes and smacked her head. "A Hero! That was the answer it wanted!" She suddenly looked intently at Cardien. "Okay, what about the first time? I didn't answer 'Hero' then, for sure."

"Again, the program was damaged, when your answers didn't match, it sort of skipped to the powers determination part of the program. And you got the powers you desired, sort of. But the attitude you wanted? Well, it couldn't do that, really. The program put into your mind merely made being unlawful more appealing to you emotionally. So, when you thought of doing something you knew to be illegal, you got a 'thrill' from the notion. It didn't really do the reverse, since that was basically unnecessary. Once you were encouraged to become a lawbreaker, there was no going back. It didn't really make you 'evil', so to speak, but it did encourage behavior that led you to consider yourself evil."

"But it didn't actually prevent me from being a fair hero for a short time." SHego mused, "Though I guess it gave me nudges when it came to breaking the rules. And I suppose that means I actually became 'scary' on my own, that wasn't the program's fault?" She sighed deeply, "But it wasn't just criminals I scared, I was scaring my brothers too with my behavior. And not just in the field. My 'off-duty' actions were pretty wild. And that let those guys supervising us for the City drive a wedge between me and Henry, and the others by association. Henry was so determined to be _perfectly_ good, he was afraid that having me around would corrupt him, I think."

"Well, remember, he certainly, and Mego probably had a dose of the program that caused 'lawful' behavior." 'Cardien' cautioned her, "And in fact, I believe you did as well!"

"Huh? How could I...when I was hit by the Attitudinator, I assumed it reversed my wiring." Shego remarked, "But...how could I have had both?"

"The damaged program was the cause." Cadien replied, 'It was supposed to be used on five adults, it had precautions built in to prevent putting the behavior modification in someone too young. And I know the Wegos were too young. When it had cycled through all of you, it added things up and found it hadn't issued enough modification, so it started over, and simply installed a second dose of 'law' in Hego, and 'anti-law' in you."

"Wait, you're saying I had the 'lawful' program first?" Shego asked, scowling.

"Yes, because if a new behavior program is installed, any already present go dormant." Cardien explained, "Though they remain present. When you were targetted by the Attitudinator, it 'extracted' the 'anti-law', and the 'lawful' program became dominant. After being refreshed by the Attitudinator, the 'anti-law' program was re-installed, and became dominant again."

"So, put simply, it made me feel 'good' about being bad?" Shego frowned. "Why did I succumb to Macheles so easily, that's been bothering me."

"Because his power could interface with the program and manipulate your emotions more easily then with a normal person." She gave Shego a questioning look. "You do realize he didn't really 'control' you, don't you? He altered your emotions with his power, then redirected your focus with words, from him to Kim Possible."

Shego didn't reply with an answer, but another question. "So, if Macheles had only known it, he probably could have taken Team Go over, any time he wanted?"

"Well, perhaps not that easily. He would have had some influence on their short-term emotional state. Or perhaps 'immediate' is a better choice. But, he either didn't know, or he didn't think it was worth the risk of possible exposure. On the other hand, you might consider the members of his audience at the theater that night."

"A bunch of mid-level City officials, basically. He seemed to prefer to draw those kind of people into his influence."

"Not quite, Ana, you've got that backwards, but there was no way for you to know that."

Shego blinked, and considered that. "Backwards? He attracted these people, probably because of their position...Wait!" She tapped her nose as she thought, "He attracted these people, and _then _they went to work for the City?" Cardien nodded. "Ooookay, something was going on there that went a whole lot deeper then an S&M show with unwilling victims."

"Yes, but that isn't why we are here. And we don't have much time left, so let's cover your other questions. The Rani's experiment restarted the initiation program, which still exists, somewhere. It asked the usual questions, and discovered you were 'lapsed' or something similar. This, it was programmed to handle. One potential scenario, as I alluded to earlier, involved turning a hero into a villain, for whatever reason. Possibly merely to 'redeem' them later publicly, which could make a great story. Your powers were set, but it rewarded your noble desires by giving you more. You gained the ability to heal Kim Possible, and in turn, for her to accelerate your own healing greatly. The lack of behavior modification may have troubled it, but it had no means to install it in you, in the absence of the Attitudinator. It _did_ change your powers appearance to the 'Hero' version, which looked far more controlled, and less 'scary'. And briefly, the Rani's suppression of your powers lapsed, until her system adapted."

"Hmm." was Shego's only response. 'Doctor Cardien' looked at her watch. "Now, we have time for you to attend a class, but we had better hurry, we can't keep all of you here much longer."

0000000000

The Doctor paced back and forth beside the table on which Charley lay, still unconscious. He glanced occassionally at a silent figure standing in the corner, frowning slightly, lips pursed as he contemplated something apparently disturbing to him. Then a gasp from Charley caused him to stop and bend over her, face anxious. "Charley?"

The girl opened her eyes and regarded the Doctor fuzzily for a moment, thenthey focused quickly. "Is it done?" She asked.

The Doctor smiled reassuringly and nodded. "All done, Charley, you're no longer linked to the Matrix, Now it's time to get you back to your ship." Charley soon found herself boarding Thundagirl again. The ship looked different. The rear compartment was longer, and the horizontal tubes were now on either side, instead of against the rear bulkhead. They now resembled beds, and were no longer retracted into the bulkhead. Kim was still lying in the starboard one, the others still in theirs, except now there were two more upright ones. The two small ones were still on the rear bulkhead, the babies sleeping peacefully in them.

The Doctor guided the girl to the port horizontal tube, and helped her lie down, after removing her robe, averting his eyes as much as was practical. "Now Charley, just lie there and relax. You'll be on your way, soon." The girl's eyes closed, and the Doctor frowned. "_This was the best I could do for you, Charley, I can't change anything else!" _He turned and exited the room. As he did, a soft glow surrounded Charley's body.

0000000000

"Okay, hold it a minute, are you still going to give me all this, even if I go my own way, Stevie?" Shego asked 'Mister Barkin', pointing at a small, green, metal skull that was circling her. "I mean, maybe I will be more or less on the side of good, but I may do that my own way."

'Barkin' nodded. "Yes, we will, Miss Whitlock, whether or not you associate with Miss Possible, or not. Have you decided on a name for your little 'friend' there, yet?"

"Well, I guess, following the trend, I will name him 'George'. Come to think of it, why 'Fred' for the black one?"

"Because there just had to be a 'Fred', that's why!" The five turned to find Charley sitting in one of the 'desks' behind them. "Charley!" Her friends studied her. "Did they heal you?" JJ asked, a concerned look on her face.

"No, they didn't do any physical healing for any of us, we are all still on T-Girl, at least bodily. They broke my connection to the Gallifreyan Matrix, though. We need to talk quickly, we're about to be returned to 'normality'." She looked at JJ, "As soon as we do, call Wade, and ask him to get together all the things the babies will need. Then, the three of you jump to New Mexico and get our stuff. Mine is all packed, on my bed. That should give Wade some time. Then, to Middleton, to pick the stuff up, and back to Shego's house."

At JJ's nod, Charley turned to Kim, "Can we trust Betty Director with the truth, if we give her a legitimate excuse not to prosecute Doctor Chosa for whatever rules or laws she broke?"

Kim frowned, thinking carefully before answering, "I have some trust issues with her, right now. But, if you think we need to, then I think we can confide in her."

Charley nodded, "Okay. As soon as we land, I'll have a talk with UNIT. We need to set things up for the public, regarding the babies, especially. And we need to go public quickly. Your current appearance," She looked at Kim, "Will help the story we tell, as far as credibility goes."

Kim shook her head, "I'm not very good at lying, and I don't like it at all."

"It's not for you, it's for the babies, Kim! I hate lying, too, and I won't lie to save myself. I'm going to tell Doctor Director that I lied to her, and _only _me! No one else knew what I did, except Wade, and he only knows part of it." At Kim's scowl, she explained the 'planted' evidence at DNAmy's Middleton house. "He had to do something, so I gave him something, before he got into trouble on his own."

Kim wasn't mollified. "Charley, I appreciate..." And the 'classroom' faded away. The last thing they heard was 'Mister Barkin's' voice. "You should have no problems regarding the babies needs, when you wake up. Good Luck to you all."

00000000

"Something wrong, Doctor?" The Time Lord turned with a worried frown to the speaker. The Rani, in the blond persona she'd taken on in the battle in Thailand, but a decade or more older in appearance, with gray mixed in with the blond on her head.

"I'm not sure." The Doctor commented thoughtfully, "But now I wish I'd done this in the TARDIS, after all. I sensed something, a presence, that shouldn't have been here."

"Hmm. Well, I think it's time you got me back to my keepers, I have a few unfinished projects on my slate, and you know how those military types are."

"Oh, how well I do!" The Doctor looked around again. He'd already sent Thundagirl and her occupants on her way, but why did he get the sense that he wasn't the only one who had used this interlude for his own purposes?

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Ah, Well, Please Read and Review,


	15. Some truths

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own any right s to Kim Possible, or any other characters from that show, or any from other media I may reference in my stories.

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And normalcy returned, for better or for worse.

"Okay, that was weird! And it continues to be so..." Belle Reeder said, looking around at the remodeled compartment. Four vertical and one horizontal tube now lined each side, with dividers between the vertical ones, and curtains that could be pulled to isolate them. There was also a fold-down shelf on the dividers for each tube.

Charley lifted her head and looked across the aisle at Kim, and blinked in disbelief. The girl's own expression was shock. "What the Hell!" suddenly sounded from Shego's tube, and as she stepped into view, Charley saw that her reason was the same as Kim's. Her breasts were swollen, obviously with milk. "How did this happ..." Shego broke off as her gaze fell on the babies, who were beginning to fuss. "Oh my God!" she cried, and moved swiftly to the small tubes.

"What! What's wrong with them!?" Kim cried, trying to lever herself upright. Pain twisted her face, but she persisted. "Shego, tell me! Are they all right?" JJ, Belle and Beth were crowding past her, to see for themselves.

"They're fine Kim, calm down, please!" Shego picked Milly up, and held her where Kim could see.

Chest heaving, with too much sweat beading her exposed skin from so little exertion, Kim's eyes widened. "How?" Milly was smaller, looking to Kim no older then seven to eight weeks old.

"Those Aliens, obviously!" Shego snapped, "But why?"

"Tempusite was used in the Rani's experiment." Charley explained, " It left residual traces, which could have led to problems. In order to purge them, they had to rejuvenate you at least to a point. As to the milk, I think they triggered that on purpose." Charlie spoke slowly, and her friends' faces showed concern. "Maybe just so you wouldn't miss the 'experience', maybe for the babies' benefit. I honestly don't know for sure."

"Well, I have fed babies before, but not...ow! Okay, Milly knows what to do, but is it supposed to hurt?" Shego wasn't looking anywhere near as upset as she sounded. She was frankly awestruck by what was going on.

Kim snorted. "Oh, don't be a baby, Shego! And speaking of which, can someone hand me my Amy?"

As Belle complied, Beth suddenly noticed that Kim was starting to shiver. She turned and dashed into the central bay meaning to get a blanket, but stopped dead, stunned. "Oh, Wow!"

As Belle and JJ turned to see what she was on about, Charley spotted something. "Belle, there's a folded blanket, or something, on that shelf under Kim's tube. And JJ, hand me my bracer, let me see if they're both all right." Belle quickly pulled the blanket out and spread it over Kim, who was discovering that Amy, apparently, still had an appetite after whatever the Ar'Ithane had fed her. She winced slightly, but kept her mouth shut, to avoid giving Shego a chance to retaliate. Belle turned around and found a blanket under Charley's tube, as well, and covered her up, trying not to wince at the rainbow of colors displayed on her chest.

Charlie didn't put the bracer on, merely activated it. "Boys!" she called. Then her eyes popped wide as seven, instead of four, skulls responded. "_Oh! I remember the green one, but the gold and white?" _She looked at them all, "Okay, who are you three?"

"The green one is George." Shego replied.

"The gold one is, well, Goldie!" JJ added, then looked around, defensively, "What? So I lose points on originality. What did you decide to call the white one, Kim?"

"Hmmm? Oh, Walt, I guess." The distracted girl answered. Roy was scanning Amy, while Ben was hovering around Milly.

"Walt?" Shego asked.

"Yes, why?" Kim replied.

Shego frowned, then shook her head, "Nothing, just for a sec there...nothing."

Charley studied her bracer's readouts, a puzzled look on her face. Then she suddenly looked up, "T-Girl**,** where are we, right now?"

"Over the Gulf of Mexico, twenty minutes from destination, Charley. What do you think of my new interior, by the way? This time, I had a say in how things were done!"

"Looks pretty good through the boys' eyes, can't see much of it from here myself. JJ, get on that call to Wade, please. And, someone bring me a comm unit, also please." She then noticed both Kim and Shego regarding her intently. "Oh, you want to know the results?" The 'duh' look on Shego's face was priceless. "Well, the babies are perfectly healthy, and so are the two of you. However, Kim is biologically now seventeen years, four months, old. And you are twenty years, more or less precisely." Two jaws dropped. "So, they didn't get their calculations quite right." She looked at her bracer again, "And, for some reason, the four of us are roughly seventeen and a half years old, which makes no sense, we weren't exposed to Tempusite, uh, unless it affected us from _inside_ the container, but I don't think so." Three more shocked expressions bloomed.

"Um, not to be a prude, but maybe we should get some clothes on?" Kim suggested. "At least before calling Wade? Oh, think we need a switch here." referring to Amy.

"Good idea. And you are a prude, Possible." Shego remarked, "Though I take your point about Nerdlinger seeing all...Oh, didn't see that in the Decon shower." She said to JJ, "Your 'blue streak' continues south of the border."

JJ nodded, unembarrassed, "Yeah, I thought it was a cool idea, at the time."

Kim was trying to look anywhere except at the subject of the conversation, cheeks bright red. Shego smirked at her, "See, told'ya!"

Belle, who had gone into the central bay to look around and returned, spotted a shelf above Kim's tube. "Here's some clothes for Kim, and diapers for the babies." Kim was so embarrassed by this point she couldn't look as the girl leaned over her to reach the clothes and hand them down. Shego went back to the tube she had emerged from. The folding shelf was down, and there was clothing on it. "Nice, a nursing bra." She commented, mildly sarcastic. "Guess someone thought of everything!"

Five minutes later, with everyone dressed, JJ initiated the call to Wade. "JJ! I was worried! Did you find Kim, is she all right? Why isn't Charley calling? I..."

"I'm fine, Nerdlinger, thanks for asking!" Shego called, and flashed Kim a grin when the girl shushed her.

"Shego! Sorry, I didn't think..Is Kim there, is she.."

"Yes, Wade, I'm here. Not fine, but.."

"Oh My God, I am so sorry I didn't know about that chemical, Kim! I should have been more thorough! Do you still have that problem? Did you have enough medicine? Did.."

" Wade!" JJ almost shouted, "We need you to do something for us, please." When she had his attention, she continued, "We need you, or your friend Zita, to get together some supplies for us."

"On it! I 'll do it myself, what do you need?" JJ saw the fatigue in the boy's eyes. "Wade, you need rest. We need all the things a pair of eight month..err, _week_ old babies would need."

Wade just sat there blinking at her, for a long time. "Uh, well, maybe I _will_ call Zita, for that stuff. Um, where did you get the babies?"

Shego began to answer before JJ could, "Well, Wade, to get a baby, you need to..Ow! No pinching, Possible!"

Kim scowled at her, "Behave! Besides, we didn't exactly do it that way, did we?" She reached out her hand for the comm, and JJ handed it to her.

She had forgotten how gaunt she looked, until she saw Wade's reaction to her appearance. "Kim! You look...I mean, you, uh.."

Kim grinned, it was nice to be talking to Wade again, even under these circumstances, "No Big, Wade, just get that stuff together for us, Please and Thank You. Will call back later, after you have had a few hours sleep. Don't let me call back and see those bags under your eyes, clear?"

"Clear, Kim. I am _so_ glad to have you back! Wade, out!"

As Kim signed off, Charley raised her own comm and activated it. Within a few minutes, she was talking to Brigadier MacLaren. "Miss Cob! You certainly departed Thailand in a hurry, I trust all is well?"

"Not really, but things are being handled, Sir. I called to discuss a means of tracing the Rani's activities. That cover she developed as Elizabeth Reithan was far too elaborate for skulking around the jungle in the Yucatan."

MacLaren scowled, thoughtfully. "Yes you're right, she must have used it for other things! What exactly do you propose?"

"Now that she no longer resembles her former self, I propose we make Elizabeth Reithan a wanted woman. Any legitimate scientists or others that she contacted might then come forward, and give us some idea what else she might have been up to. We can also use her to explain some odd occurrences. Also, by crediting her with certain things, we might draw all sorts of interesting persons into the open trying to find her themselves."

MacLaren mulled it over for nearly a minute, then slowly nodded, "Yes, that might work rather well. Of course, UNIT can't put out such a bulletin, don't want anyone knowing she was of interest to us!"

Charley nodded in agreement. "Of course not. I think Global Justice is the best way to go. We can officially have 'her' charged with the kidnapping of Kim Possible, which will generate a great deal of publicity for our purposes."

The General nodded. "I will support that proposal to my superiors. If they agree, we will contact Global Justice directly." The call ended with an exchange of regrets for the dead troopers, and well wishing all around, as well as a pointed reminder that all things relating to the Rani were officially Top Secret.

Charley settled back after completing the call, closing her eyes. Shego looked at the girl, comprehension dawning. "Everything relating to the Rani is Top Secret? Including our treating Kim with an illegal drug, to cure a toxin inflicted by one of her creatures? Nice, Charley, Neatly played, Kid!"

Charley showed little pleasure at the compliment. She looked at Kim, then Shego. "You should know that a full length video of what happened to you in Go City last month is out. I haven't seen the uncensored version, but from what I _have_ heard, you won't like it."

Shego grimaced, while Kim looked shocked. Her eyes tracked to the faint scars still remaining on her hands, hands holding her little girl. "Heh, got it backwards, didn't I?" She said, in a dull voice, "Had the virgin birth after the crucifixion."

Shego gaped in shock. "What are you saying? _You_ don't say things like that!"

Kim looked up, tears in her eyes, "_Me_, or anyone? I...oh God, you're right, I'm sorry!" She laid back down, carefully setting Amy besides her, and started sobbing.

Shego was momentarily at a loss. Then, handing Milly to Belle, she knelt down. "Kimmie, look at me." When that didn't earn a response, she became more insistent. "Possible, look at me!" When the girl finally raised her head, Shego smiled, "Princess, you're running on fumes here. It's been a bad time for you, so don't be so hard on yourself, because others will be doing that for you!"

Kim's eyes widened, then she snorted, "Some Pep Talk, there, coach." She wiped the tears off her face and nodded. "Got you, can't give in, the predators will be circling, right?"

Shego blinked, "Well actually, that's about right. And here I am advising you, when I don't have to stand up and face them. At least not yet."

A quizzical frown appeared on Kim's face. "Yet? Oh, I meant to ask, where were you when the rest of us were in 'class'?"

"Oh, I was interesting conversation about how I got where I am. I'll tell you about it later, though." Shego smiled, "I still need to think it through myself a bit."

"Coming in to land, boss. Reception committee on the landing pad, Wade must have passed the word." Thundagirl announced.

Charley frowned, "We didn't tell Wade...or, did someone mention our ETA to him?" She asked, but to no one in particular.

T-Girl's response sounded a bit sheepish. "Well, boss, I _may _have broadcast our GPS coordinates over the link. Anyway, coming down, prepare to disembark, all passengers!"

"Help me up." Kim asked, pushing herself to a sitting position, "I need to reach the house before this painkiller wears off. Because with it, I hurt, without it, I won't be doing anything!"

"We have two Stokes litters here, Kim, we can carry you!" Beth suggested.

The girl shook her head, and managed to stand up, "Not while I can walk!" she turned and picked Amy up. As Charlie started to rise, JJ poked a finger in her face. "Not you! You, we will carry!"

Charley shook her head, "Not going in, I'm going with you to New Mexico and Middleton, and one other stop, change of plans." JJ frowned, but Charley ignored her, and laid back down, closing her eyes.

"By the way, if we are younger, how come nobody's injuries have faded, and Kim still has that painkiller in her system? Or the venom, for that matter?" Belle asked, as she took position at one of Kim's elbows. Beth mirrored her actions on other side of the girl, also securing the blanket around her so Kim wouldn't trip on it.

"Verisimilitude." Charley muttered. "We can't come back from all that without a scratch, we need to look beat-up to the public, and others."

JJ smirked, "So, what? You want us to wear bikinis at the press conference, show off our bruises?"

"Couldn't hurt."

Kim, with Shego besides her, and the Reeders in close formation, walked to the portside hatch as it began to lower. She soon saw Eliana Chosa's and Ron Stoppable's heads appear, as the ramp lowered. Then, she saw something else, something that looked like, but couldn't be...

Ron, watching the hatch lower with a wide smile on his face, saw Kim's face, gaunt, but alive, and though the smile slipped a notch, it held. And then the ramp lowered farther, and he saw what was in her arms, and in Shego's...

"CATCH HER!"

"CATCH HIM!

"I got the baby!"

"Ya think maybe a little advance warning might have been wise?"

"Indeed."

0000000000

"It's not funny, Shego!" Kim snarled at the grinning thief. "What would you do, if you saw something you remembered as a small--not exactly cute--but small, animal, suddenly looking like something that could arm-wrestle your brother?" She broke off as Eliana entered the room with the IV bottle ready to hang. Talking hurt, worse by the minute. Every movement hurt, in fact. She was beginning to see how the venom in her would work as an immobilizing agent. It hadn't started working at all until it had gotten to her brain, it seemed.

And here she was, right back where she didn't want to be. Same bed, same clothes, different problem. She hoped the Rani hadn't lied when she said she believed one treatment would do it. And Kim hoped she hadn't made a mistake not eating a meal and letting it digest before starting. She was going to be hurting in more ways then one soon. A slightly bigger concern was Charley's warning just before T-Girl had departed not to nurse Amy while the medicine was in her system, and to have her milk checked after the treatment, before resuming breastfeeding. Kim had almost decided to forgo the treatment, and endure the pain for the four or five days, but now she was glad she hadn't.

So, Shego might have to nurse both babies, if necessary. That had somewhat unsettled the woman, but she had agreed eventually. The necessity partially would be determined on what the girls brought from their trip to Middleton. They had been gone nearly an hour already. After helping get the stunned Ron back to the house, as well as Kim and Amy, they had headed back to T-Girl**, **and left almost immediately. Kim hadn't looked around the interior of the ship much as she was disembarking, though she had noted that there had been much more equipment then before. She had been too focused on Amy, and keeping one foot in front of the other.

Eliana looked at the girl, wondering to herself how so many bad things could happen to one good person. The baby wasn't bad, though even she would bring Kim problems, Eliana was certain of that. She adjusted the IV drip, sighing deeply. As a religious person, she had problems with the way the babies had come into the world, but as far as she was concerned, they weren't to blame for it, and deserved no prejudice. But she was too wise not to see how others would think.

Shego, who had previously avoided the room when Kim was 'hooked up' and never watched it done, was also thinking of the same problem. To her, it was a question of legitimatizing their parentage under the law. The truth gave them unquestioned rights, as far as she was concerned. Some sort of adoption scam could always backfire. Of course, that wouldn't stop Shego from taking her little girl and going on the run. Even a legit adoption could be overturned, if someone made a case that either of them were unfit. With the legit claim, they could as well, but might find it harder to convince the court.

But the truth would not set them free, not by any stretch of the imagination. Even with the 'miracles' of modern medicine, this was stretching credibility and tolerance pretty damn far.

But she couldn't see another option, short of just ignoring the world, not explaining the kids, just raising them, maybe here, where there was less likelihood of official interest. "Pipe dream_, Shego, never work. And Kim wouldn't...well, maybe, for Amy, she would. But, it wouldn't be right for her. Not that that would stop her." _She turned to look out over the pool. "_Face it, there's a hell of a storm coming!"_

She heard Kim let out a gasp, as a familiar feeling came over her. "Doesn't feel any better, this time around. Worse, with the pain added." She made a sour face. "Take my mind off this, please, Shego? Tell me what you meant about how you got your powers, or whatever you figured out."

Shego smiled, slowly shaking her head. "Well, let's start by saying I have a friend in high places, and I don't mean heaven." She then recounted her encounter with the false 'Doctor Cardien'.

Kim frowned. "But do you think it's the truth?"

Shego shrugged. "Have to give it some thought, Kimmie."

"Hmm, well, wake me when you figure it out." Kim's eyes had closed, and she soon began breathing slow and regular. Shego took her free hand and squeezed it gently then got up and slipped from the room, as quietly as she could manage.

0000000000

"Doctor Director, Thundagirl just appeared overhead. One minute...she's descending, and asking for a medical team to meet her!"

Betty swung her chair around and brought up the external monitors on one of her screens. She saw T-Girl landing fifty yards from the main entrance. As she watched, the ship's starboard ramp dropped, and Charley Cob came into view, carefully walking down the ramp, alone. Betty thought she glimpsed a pale figure inside the ship, but the ramp began to close again, and she leaped from her chair and sprinted out of her office.

When she made it outside, the medical team, as well as several others, was gathered around a prone figure. The crowd opened up as she approached, and she saw Charley being examined by three paramedics, and Doctor Keyes, their CMO. The girl was conscious, and she began to push herself up when she saw Doctor Director, but Keyes firmly held her by one shoulder.

Betty knelt by the girl. "Charley? What happened? Is everyone all right?" Charley nodded, "We saved Kim and Shego, everyone is all right, I really need to talk to you in private, Ma'am" the girl's voice was raspy and uneven. Keyes took a filled syringe from one of the paramedics and injected her. She was wearing a T-Shirt and shorts, more appropriate for sleeping in or lounging around then running around in. She looked at the doctor, "Don't knock me out, I have to tell Doctor Director something important, please?"

Keyes smiled at her, "Just something for the pain, Charley, relax." He held out his hand to one of the bystanders, who handed him a folded piece of paper. He opened it up and studied it, frowning, then looked at Charley again, "And these are all your injuries, are you sure?" The girl nodded. "I honestly don't know what you are doing walking around in this condition, young lady."

Two more paramedics arrived with a gurney. As Charley was carefully lifted onto it, her eyes met Doctor Director's, who saw fear growing in them. "Charley, where have the others gone." The girl shook her head. "Private, has to be private." The fear was real, a type Betty had seen before. "Okay, Charley, as soon as the doctors say I can."

"Has to be soon, I'm sorry, but it does, it has to be soon." The girl was rambling, and Betty looked Keyes in the eyes. He shrugged, indicating that the drug shouldn't be the cause. As Charley was taken inside, Betty spoke to Keyes, "How long, do you think, before I can speak to her?"

He held out the paper to her. It was a diagram of a human body, on which someone, maybe Charley herself, had made notes of various injuries. "Massive blunt force to the chest. Fractured sternum, six cracked ribs, bruising of both lungs, and maybe the heart as well. _Hemothorax, _almost certainly. If she was wearing that armor of hers when it happened, she must have taken a hell of a hit."

"Prognosis?"

"Physically, she should recover. However, I don't think that is her only problem. Did you see her eyes?"

"Yes. I think we made a mistake before, when we thought she was showing signs of 'burn out'. I think she was already burnt out, or very close to it."

"Exactl," Keyes agreed., "In answer to your question, give me forty, fifty minutes. Do you want me to call Doctor Prior?"

Betty nodded, "Yes, but ask her just to observe Charley for now, please?"

Back inside, Doctor Laird accosted her. "Did you see? The ship's dimensions had changed! How could anyone have altered her? I need to study the tape!"

Betty nodded, "I want to look at it, as well. Let's head to your office."

Laird and two colleagues shared the office with her. She had asked Abby to go to the infirmary and watch out for Charley. "There! The center section has a pronounced upwards bulge that wasn't there before. I think she's at least four feet higher! She's longer, too! Enhance the view through her hatch when it opens, Larry." The recording continued to the point where the ramp was open enough for a clear interior view. "What the...lots of equipment in there, now. What are those large objects towards the bow? There are lockers...there's...oh!"

'Oh' was a naked JJ Ko, briefly seen as she looked out the hatch at the departing Charley. Larry focused on her face, clearly showing her concerned frown.

"I suppose I'm going to have to make sure that image doesn't circulate." Betty mused aloud. Several guilty starts resulted, and things got back to a scientific perspective. "I don't understand how she could have been changed that much, that quickly.!" Laird concluded, as the ramp shut, and seconds later, T-Girl was gone.

"If you can identify any of the equipment visible through the hatch let me know, Doctor Laird, I'm going to see Charley." Betty left and walked down the hall with a preoccupied air. "_She said Kim and Shego are all right, everyone was all right. But she isn't, and may not have been for some time. And I didn't see it, not the first time I have missed...that was different!" _She shook her head angrily, then composed herself as she reached the infirmary doors. And realized she was thirty minutes early, if she wanted to give Keyes the full fifty. Then, her pager went off.

Grabbing a wall phone, she tapped in her own office number. "Grace, what is it?...UNIT? Okay, be right there." She then spent twenty-five minutes talking to UNIT-North America's commander, who explained the plan to use the Rani's 'defunct' identity to discover her movements while she was at large, as well as authorizing Global Justice to use information about her as 'bait' for criminals who might be interested in contacting her. He also admitted that the idea had originated with Charley Cob, who he seemed to think was affiliated with GJ. And hinted interest in T-Girl, as well.

After seeing him off with a non-committal series of answers, Betty headed back to the infirmary. Upon entering, she was directed to Charley's bed. A nurse was just settling the girl comfortably. Betty took a minute to study her. She looked curiously shrunken, in a way. Betty had noticed, and heard, that Kim Possible sometimes gave people the impression that she was much 'bigger' then she actually was, usually due to force of personality, and the dramatic nature of many of her entrances. Some people meeting her later in more relaxed circumstance would take a moment to reconcile their memories with the small girl now standing before them.

Charley had never been like that, she had always seemed just as big as she truly was. She just radiated confidence, and competence, according to her friends' accounts. Not that Kim didn't, of course, but early on, when she had been a novice, she had substituted brashness, and optimism under any circumstances, to overcome her own self-doubts. And she had simply kept up that persona even after her skills and experience reached a level where she truly deserved to be confident in herself.

But for some reason, Charley couldn't keep it going anymore. Whether or not she ever reached the point where she believed her own 'act' or not might be the heart of her problems. Maybe she still believed it was an 'act', and the fear that it would fail had finally caught up with her.

"_Then again, I'm not a 'trained' expert on such matters, I learned everything I know from hard experience with my agents, so I could be wrong. Ironically, I think Charley was as good as her 'act', even on short acquaintance. But, if you can't believe it yourself, for whatever reason, you can't go on."_

She realized the girl had spotted her, and stepped forward, a friendly smile forming on her face, though it nearly slipped when she saw the fear come back to Charley's eyes. "_She's afraid of me, or afraid about what she's going to tell me." _Aloud, she said, "Well, Charley, here I am, what did you need to tell me?" Charley looked at the nurse, and Betty waved her away. Abby approached, and Betty told Charley, "I will probably discuss whatever it is with Abby, anyway, so you have to trust her, too." Charlie hesitated, but then weakly nodded, and began her story.

A tear ran from one corner of her eye as she began, and by the time she had finished, she was crying wholeheartedly. "I don't want anyone else blamed for this, I'm the only one who lied to you, I'm the only one who should be punished!" The last was an almost desperate plea from the girl, and despite everything she had seen before, Betty was unsettled by it, though she kept her face impassive. "I didn't tell you about Shego knowing where Kim was, because I knew she wasn't being malicious, I didn't tell you what I found about Kim's accident with the chemical, because I suspected someone was breaking the law trying to save her. And when I found I was right, I lied so nothing would happen to Eliana Chosa, because she's a good person!"

Betty barely restrained herself from shaking her head. "_You told me the truth in Colorado, Charley, you can't lie to save yourself." _She hesitated before speaking, "But, you didn't plant the evidence in DNAmy's Middleton house, Charley. The only person who could have was..."

She broke off at the panic in the girl's eyes. She was shaking her head frantically, and trying to sit up. Abby held her down as gently as she could, and the nurse rushed over. "No! My fault, my responsibility! Nobody else, please!" The nurse produced a syringe, and administered an injection. Charley calmed immediately, and her eyelids began to droop. Abby picked up a wipe and cleaned the tear stains from her cheeks, then looked at Betty with the most concerned look in her eyes that Betty had seen in years. As Charley slipped into sleep, the two women left.

"Well, she proved you right, she is her own worst enemy!" Abby commented, as the two made their way back to Doctor Director's office. "But, she did manage to succeed with her mission, and tie several loose ends up neatly." This elicited no comment from her boss, who strode briskly along, a scowl on her face. Abby decided to withhold further comment for the moment.

It was during the short elevator ride to the next level down that Betty vented briefly. "I don't like being manipulated, Abby, I never have! But that girl...I believe she really hated every minute of doing it, I truly do, but I still resent..." the elevator doors opened, and she lapsed into silence.

As they entered her outer office, Grace, a perfectly neat young woman with curly red hair, looked up, "You have a visitor, Doctor Director, from UNIT." Betty's eyebrows rose, "And you let them in my office? Grace, since when do you do such a foolish thing!?" Grace looked confused for a moment, but Betty ignored her, and swept into her office. And stopped dead in her tracks. "Abby, could you wait outside, please?" She muttered absently, then closed the door in her aide's face before she could reply.

The first thing she saw was the umbrella laying on her desk, multi-colored, with a red plastic handle shaped like a question mark. And the little man standing in front of the bank of monitors on the wall, hands clasped behind his back, rocking back and forth on his heels. He turned as she approached. "Ah, Doctor Director, you're looking well! And my, how far you've come since we last met!"

Betty nodded warily, acknowledging the compliment. "Doctor. To what do I owe the pleasure, and how did you get past Grace?"

"Oh, a little charm, a little magic, an old UNIT pass." He stepped over to Betty's desk, and pushed a key on the video control board. An image of Charley Cob, sleeping in the infirmary came up. "I do wonder, sometimes, how young girls can take on such massive responsibility, and do such great things. Of course, you are familiar with that phenomena, yourself!"

He didn't wait for a reply, but continued, "One of the factors, of course, is that they actually fail to realize the full scale of what they set out to do, until they are well into it, and then they can't give up, they can't turn back. And oddly, sometimes it is the realization of what they accomplished, and how much was actually riding on their actions, that frightens them so. Not doing more of it, but the fact that they did so much, and so many bad things could have happened if they had made the wrong choices."

"How much was riding on Charley Cob, or can you tell me, Doctor?" Betty chose not to sit for the moment, her office or not. Not that she expected her height advantage over her visitor to have any influence on him at all.

"More then even she realizes. She inspired something, her and her three friends, more then anything else. The formation of an organization known as the 'Knights Valkyr', backed by an alien race previously familiar with mankind but unmotivated with regard to helping him. That organization helped stop a period of 'victimization' of man, both by his own kind...and others. They then aided a separate people in the same manner, forming an alliance that helped man through many future crisis, mostly self-inflicted. They only lasted four generations, when their purpose was judged to be fulfilled, but while they were in existence, they were something to be admired."

He sighed deeply, and turned from the monitors. "And she had no idea what she did, none at all. My future self pulled her out of the future, and put her here, because she wanted a 'normal' life, for the first time in her memory." He looked Betty in the eye with that terribly unsettling, centuries-old look that sometimes appeared, "But she can't escape her nature. And she finally realized what she had accomplished, what she knew of at least. And those memories began to haunt her, but she pushed them back while she tried to accomplish her mission. But she couldn't hold them back forever, they had too much weight."

"Will she recover? Will she ever be the same girl, again?" Betty winced, "Stupid question, isn't it? You're never the 'same' again."

The Doctor shook his head, "No, you never are. Still she may recover, of course. Might help that the scale of things she is dealing with is smaller, relatively speaking." Then, he switched topics without a pause, "I don't think you should ever tell Kim Possible about saving the human race. 'Saving the World' takes on a whole new meaning, when you see so much more of it, as she has since she began."

"You think she might end up like Charley?"

"Oh, not necessarily, no. Well, perhaps. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we? Anyway, I just dropped by to..." Suddenly his manner changed to one of urgency, though there was no indication of what had caused the change. "Well, I must be going, it was quite nice to see you again, but I must be going!"

As he spoke, he collected his umbrella from the desk, and his straw boater from the chair in front of the desk. He tipped it to her with his biggest smile as he left the office, passing a befuddled Abby and Grace. It took Betty nearly a minute to actually get her brain working for some reason. Then she called after him, "Wait a minute! Doctor!"

It took ten minutes for a report to reach her of a possible maintenance problem, unknown machinery noises from the storage level. And three minutes longer for UNIT to call them and tell them that the Doctor's pass was out of date. And not once in that period did the Time Lord appear on a single security monitor image. "_And Shego thinks she's slick!" _Betty mused to herself.

Then came the next bad news. Abby delivered it. "Betts, our mystery bomber has struck again, he hit another WWEE base, this one in of all places, Alaska! At least fifteen dead, though three of them were in 'the pit', so Gemini may have killed them, himself."

"Damn! We need to arrange some sort of watch on all supervillains, at least the ones we can find!" Betty held her head in her hands. "Another one of those days..."

0000000000

Shego entered the dining area to find Eliana seated at the table. Ron, apparently recovered, was again helping Inez cook and maybe even flirting with her. At least, teasing her a bit, which she didn't seem to mind.

As Shego took a seat, Eliana regarded her with a cocked eyebrow. "So, you think you may have the answers you need, about how your life changed?"

Shego gave her a surprised look, "You heard?"

Eliana smiled and reached into the pocket of her skirt, pulling out an earbud on a wire. "I need to know when she wakes, sometimes, I have to clean her eyes before she can open them. I also worry about her IV, she wakes with some violence, at times." She put the earbud in place, and adjusted the volume control on the receiver, before returning it to her pocket. "So, you believe someone has been trying to help you learn the truth?"

"Yep, 'she' has met me twice, once as Eliza Morrisey, and again impersonating Doctor Cardien."

"What, you mean this Doctor Morrisey isn't real?"

"Oh, yes, she certainly was real. But, she was in a coma the night of our supposed meeting in that gallery. Her background was right, Henchco researcher, best non-sexual female friend Jack Hench had. She was also an important company asset, and Jack kept her condition a secret to avoid it affecting his stock prices."

"Henchco is on the market?" A deep voice asked, from somewhere below Shego's level, to her right. She turned to see Rufus standing there. She had already seen him, of course, and had nearly dropped Milly in shock when he spoke at the landing pad, but, having him join a conversation with her was a bit much. "Uh, yeah, of course it is. Own 100 shares, myself. In fact, Nerdlinger has more than a few, as well, he tried to gain majority control back in March. If I had given him my shares, or control of them, he might own Henchco now! But, Jack caught on, and got out of it. Bought a bunch of Wade's options back, at a pretty penny, let me tell you."

"I don't believe Kim will be very happy if she hears that." Rufus opined.

"She doesn't run his life, even if he devotes a lot of his own to her. Anyway, back on topic," Shego gave a brief recital of what little the alien had told her, " Eliza, or whoever, removed the remains of the program from me and Hego, not that it changed him much. He always was a well-meaning guy, but he was just so damn gullible. Now, free to remember all the experiences he has had as a hero realistically, not through the 'rose-colored glasses', so to speak, of the program, he has become smarter as a hero, though his own IQ hasn't gone up much."

"And how did it affect you?" Eliana asked curiously.

"I don't think it was that simple with me. I actually think the 'unlawful' version of the program may have burned out that night in the Dunn Theater, when I fought back when Macheles tried to force me to...hurt Kim. I think my alien friend just removed the 'lawful' program, though I may be wrong. BUt, I can't blame the program for all of my behavior."

"So, any personality flaws you still possess are all your own fault, Ana?" Eliana asked, with a smile.

Shego affected mock outrage, "Flaws? Me? Surely you jest!" She shook her head, grinning, "Yep, I have no further excuses for screwing up my life, though I may still blame other people. That's provided I'm right, of course!" A sudden rumbling from outside attracted her attention. Ron's head shot up, and he quickly went out through the Patio door. "It's them!" He called.

Shego rose to her feet, acutely aware of the change in her balance. "Great! And they'd better not have forgotten the diapers!" She was soon outside the pool gate, watching T-Girl gently set down. She started forwards with Ron, Rufus, and Eliana, but was only halfway to the ship when the ramp lowered, and four figures emerged. Ron and Rufus stopped dead.

"Oh, Man, I don't know if this is good, or bad!" Ron blurted out. Rufus nodded, sagely. "Agreed."

* * *

Another chapter done, Please Read and Review.


	16. Tales told

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible, or any of the characters from her show, or any from other media I may reference in my stories.

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"They always come in threes!"

Doctor Director looked up in surprise as Abby stormed into her office, a _very _rare thing for her to do. "As in, Troubles?" She asked dryly, as her aide came to a stop in front of her desk, breathing heavily.

"Get this! Professor Dementor wants to be placed in Protective Custody!"

Betty leaned back in her chair, having a very hard time keeping an impassive expression on her face. "Well, that isn't our problem, that would be up to GJ-Europe..."

Abby was shaking her head, vigorously. "Dementor won't go to them, after their foul-up, even the villains don't trust them!"

Betty was incredulous, "Okay, now that takes the cake! For one thing, how did Dementor learn what happened, or does he even know the truth?"

Abby shrugged, "No details, just doesn't want to put his life in their hands. Besides, he claims he's already in the U.S., anyway."

A thoughtful look appeared on Doctor Director's face. "And what does he claim to be afraid of, or do I need to guess?"

"Won't say, wants to meet one of our agents, to arrange to be brought in."

Betty leaned over her desk, steeping her fingers as she thought. Finally, she grinned slightly. "Send Will Du. If Dementor can work through him, we'll know how serious he is!"

Abby smirked, "You aren't supposed to torture prisoners, especially before you actually have them, you know." She observed wryly.

Betty smiled, rotating her chair to face her monitors. The smile faded when she saw the image from the infirmary. Charley had had a surgical procedure done to install a chest tube in order to drain blood from her chest cavity. Though the boys had stopped the bleeding caused by her injury, a fair amount of blood had already accumulated, resulting in a condition called _hemothorax_.

She was now in the post-operative suite of the infirmary, still unconscious.

According to Doctor Prior, based on Charley's behavior, as well as what Betty had told her of the Doctor's comments, Charley wasn't seeking punishment, but she was trying to protect anyone else from being punished in this matter, even if, technically, they might deserve it.

"Are you planning any action yourself against Shego, or Doctor Chosa? Or, are you planning to alert the relevant agencies to Chosa's use of an unauthorized, experimental drug on Kim Possible?" Abby asked guardedly.

"_If Abby isn't a mind reader, she's damned close!"_ Betty thought, then cleared her throat, stalling. Without turning towards her aide, she replied, "What you're asking is, will I take the out Charley Cob came up with, by playing UNIT and us?" Abby winced slightly at that, and almost replied, but reconsidered.

After a moment's silence, Doctor Director swung her chair back around to face her aide. "No, but mainly because it might ruin this scam of ours concerning 'Elizabeth Reithan'. So, we'll continue to support the original story of how Kim ended up in her hands, as well as Shego." She frowned, "Except, we need to fill in some details there. And decide how to slant it. People think Shego cooperated with the law in the Go City matter already, so the question is, do we reinforce the impression that she might be 'going straight'?"

She tilted her chair back again, briefly gazing up at the ceiling. "I think someone needs to have a talk with Shego in person before any decision is made on that subject. Have our people write up two versions, one implying some kind of 'reform' on her part, the other...neutral. Don't work on one implying sinister motives, for now."

She looked briefly at the monitors again. Doctor Drakken was eating some kind of pastry in his cell, while reading what his book list identified as **'20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'**. "We have a dilemma with Drakken. We can't keep him here much longer, unless he requests Protective Custody. Yet, we have no requests from other agencies to speak with him, or desiring to prosecute him, right now. Which in itself is very strange, indeed." She sighed, "And to stay with us, he would have to be very, very cooperative, let me tell you!"

Her gaze again shifted to the sleeping Charley Cob. "She only kept going so she could get here and take the blame for her actions, I really think I'm far short of understanding that girl!" She turned back to Abby, and resumed a brisk tone, "Anyway, get Will going, with back-up, of course, and get our intel boys to work on the Reithan scam, will you, Abby? I have to get my notes in order for the CEC briefing in an hour."

Abby nodded, and left. Minutes after she had left, Betty put her notes aside and turned once again to the monitors. "What am I going to do about you, Charley Cob?"

00000000000

Kim became slowly aware of noises in the room with her. Whoever was making them was probably trying to remain as quiet as possible. She tried opening her eyes, and gasped when they only partially responded, and a painful tug on her lashes resulted. "Hang on, KP, I'll take care of that."

A smile spread across the girl's face, "Ron! Oh, it's so good to hear your voice! So sorry about the fainting, earlier." She heard him pass to her right entering the bathroom.

"That's Okay, KP, I didn't exactly deal with your little surprise very well either." he replied, as the sound of running water began. "But I was so glad to see you alive, it was all I could think about seeing, since you disappeared!" The water stopped, and he returned, to see the smile gone from Kim's face.

As he began to gently wipe her eyelids to free them, she whispered, "I'm so sorry, Ron. I never meant for you to get hurt looking for me, I should have come up with an excuse for leaving, but I just couldn't bring myself to lie to you."

Her right eye popped open, but she closed it again as he worked on her left. When both were free, she looked into his brown ones, and saw no anger, or resentment, or any of the things she felt she might deserve. Just concern, and then humor as he smiled. "No Big, KP, I know why you had to keep it a secret, I really do." She reached up then, to touch his cheek, but stopped halfway as she discovered two things. One, her movement, though it caused a mild ache, wasn't really painful. Two, they weren't alone. Shego was sitting in a chair next to a baby crib that seemed vaguely familiar, holding Milly in her lap.

"Oh, Hi, Shego, Milly, didn't see you there." the sight of the baby distracted her thoughts from the mystery of the crib, momentarily.

Shego smirked, "No surprise, Kimmie, you only had eyes for Ron, after all." Both teens blushed, and both started to talk at once, but she cut them off. "I know, I know, you aren't in that kind of relationship. But, the one you are in is as strong, or stronger, then a lot of married couples."

That caused them to look at each other briefly, in awkward silence, which Ron broke, "Better get back to finishing this up!" He turned and went back to the project he had been working on when Kim woke, assembling the baby crib.

"Ah, Ron, you're the best! I...wait a minute, I recognize that crib!" Kim exclaimed.

"Well, you should, after all." Came a familiar voice from the doorway.

Kim's eyes widened. "Mom?!" Her mother entered the room, holding Amy in her arms, feeding her from a bottle. She was followed by Beth Reeder, who handed a second bottle to Shego. Kim blinked, "Hungry, again? How long have I been out?"

Shego chuckled. "Not that long, Princess, we just seem to have daughters who have somehow gotten Stoppable's appetite, that's all." Ron just grinned at the dig, and continued assembling the same crib the Tweebs had slept in when they were young. For reasons unknown to Kim, her own had not survived her infancy, apparently.

Kim turned her eyes to her mother, and began, "Mom, I'm sorry...", but Anne cut her off.

"You know, I hope that you don't think I expect you to top this, as far as surprises go? I mean, this one has to take the cake, young lady." She said, with mock sternness. Then, she smiled gently, "We will talk about that, if we have to, later, Kim. For now, I'm just glad to have you safe and well." She turned to Ron, "Ron, help Kim sit up a bit, so she can feed her daughter, will you?" She turned to Kim, "In answer to the question you haven't asked yet, I arrived on Thundagirl when she came back from Middleton. Wade told me about the call, keeping a promise to me about any news he received, so I collected everything requested, and told the girls I was coming with them! So, here I am!"

Ron proceeded to fuss over Kim to the point that all three women were rolling their eyes by the time he was satisfied. Kim spent part of that time flexing her hands and arms, working out the soreness in them, before taking Amy in her arms, especially being careful of her IV hub. The stand had been moved back against the wall, and Kim hoped silently that it would stay there.

Anne Possible smiled at the sight. She was very glad Kim hadn't seen her initial reaction to the news. And deeply glad Charley's 'boys' didn't record what they saw for posterity, or she might be subject to blackmail at a later date. Actually seeing her 'granddaughter', however, had grounded her immediately, and she had discussed their condition with Eliana Chosa. She had even gotten JJ Ko to pull out Charley's monitoring bracer and activate it, so she could study it's readouts, herself. It took a lot of getting used to, but she finally was able to read it enough to be satisfied.

"All Done!" Ron announced, as he completed preparation of the crib. He stood up, the in the manner of a servant, "Mademoiselle Amy, Mademoiselle Milly, your bed is prepared for your rest!"

Kim smiled, then a small frown formed on her face. "Ah, just a sec, does that mean both girls will be in here with me, when 2 AM comes around?"

Shego feigned shock, "Oh, my! I didn't think of that!" Kim made face at her, and she grinned, "Well, yeah, but you won't be here alone, we have a distinct shortage of beds, so you're going to have to share that big one, Kim."

Kim blinked. "Share? With who?"

"Well, you have a choice there, Me, or your mom. If the first, your Mom gets my bed, soon as I brief her on how to get past all the anti-intruder devices." She grinned wider at Kim's and Anne's suspicious looks. "Anyway, probably best if it's you two in here."

Anne looked around the room, "Well, it's a whole lot better then the last time we had to share a bed, Kim. Remember, when you were nine, on the trip to Nana's, we could only get one room at the Motel? Me and you in one bed, your father sandwiched between the twins in the other?" Kim rolled her eyes at the semi-embarrassing childhood memory. "Well, I won't say 'it'll be fun', but it shouldn't be too bad, right, Kim?"

"No Big, Mom, I guess I just miss my own bed, right now." She looked at Shego, "Not that I don't like it here! I mean..."

Shego was shaking her head, "I know what you mean, Princess, don't sweat it."

"Would you like me to get your bag from the ship, Mrs Possible?" Beth asked.

Anne considered, then shook her head, "No, I think I'll use that as an excuse to see more of the gardens, and this lovely house." She turned back to Kim, "Don't overdo anything, please, Kim? I know you won't have an appetite tonight, but I think I'll help with dinner, and maybe breakfast, as well. And, we do have to make plans, don't we?" Kim nodded reluctantly, and Anne left with Beth.

"Think I better prepare Inez for your Mom's helping with dinner, KP." Ron commented, and he left before Kim could reply.

"Well, alone again, plus two, eh, Kimmie?" Shego commented. She then checked the amount of formula left in the bottle. "Wow, Frog, you know how to put it away!"

"Shego! You aren't going to keep calling her 'Frog' like that, are you?" Kim noted that Amy was no slouch at the intake of nourishment, herself.

"Yep, right up until she has to explain it to every guy who comes to the door. Potential Embarrassment alone should keep her from dating until she's twenty-two. Then, when she has kids..." Shego trailed off with a smirk as Kim giggled.

"You are Evil!" She observed playfully.

"Ah, but only everyday 'evil', Pumpkin, not true Evil."

"Oh!" Kim exclaimed, unsettling Amy, who made her protests audible, "Sorry, little one, I didn't mean to upset you, there, there." As Amy resumed polishing off the little remaining formula, Kim looked back at Shego. "I was thinking about the story of the 'program'. Ron must have gotten the 'dominant' version of 'unlawful', to make him act the way he did. Now, if his 'Stop Team Go' story had been true, then your brothers would have had to get hit by the 'siubordinate unlawful' program, except...you were hit by it too, so that's screwed up." Then she saw Shego giving her a weird look. "What? Oh, It's just something I was thinking about, okay?" Kim took the now empty bottle away from Amy, and looked around for something to burp her on.

"Here, Princess!" Shego tossed her a dry hand towel, and produced a second for herself. There was silence between the two women for several minutes, though their daughters were far from silent. "Whoa, Frog! Was that a croak I heard? A little amphibian behavior, perhaps?" Shego smirked as Kim was unable to suppress another giggle. "Shego! Stop it!"

Once burped out, Shego laid Milly down in the crib, then took Amy from Kim and put her down, as well. When she was sure both were asleep, she sat back down, after moving her chair closer to the bed. "Well, some 'sitch' we're in, isn't it, Possible? Carefree bachelorettes one week," Kim rolled her eyes at that, but smiled, "And single mothers the next. I still want to bust the Rani a good one right in the chops, but if I do, I will be sure to thank her afterwards for those two."

Kim nodded agreement, "Hard to hate anyone who can make life like that. Guess I'll have to settle for mere anger over her motives for doing it." She looked at the crib for a moment longer. "By the way, what power did the aliens really give the Mentor of the 'hero' group, and do you have any idea who it was?"

Shego's smile vanished, and her face grew grim. "Well, he could 'read' their emotions, and alter them at will. Keep fear or anger from running away with them, and probably anything else. With me..." She blushed slightly, "He turned rage directed at him into lust, and redirected my focus on to you, though that wasn't with the power."

Kim's eyes narrowed, studying Shego's face carefully. The woman was avoiding looking her in the eye. "Are you saying...?"

Shego closed her eyes, and sighed, "Macheles was the mentor, Kim, he got his power from those same, idiot, aliens!"

Kim was stunned. When she didn't respond, Shego continued, "I found out a lot about him since the incident, trying to find out if anyone was backing him, someone I could still get my 'pound of flesh' from! He was born into the Jewish faith, but shunned all religion sometime after High School, no idea why. I did hear that your treatment was far from the first sacrilegious display he put on, and he was equally insulting to all faiths, though he appears to have equally mocked Satanism, a couple of times. Any worship, whether it was God, trees, navels..." Seeing her attempt at humor falling flat, she sighed and returned to the facts.

"He was thirty-two when he became involved in the 'hero' scam. Afterwards, he dropped out of sight, maybe afraid the Aliens would take his power back. Three years later, he took over the 'Club', which until then had been a nothing operation. Grab some kid from a poor neighborhood, torture them, and record it on video. No 'live' shows, then. They came with Macheles. Now, something my 'friend' pointed out to me is interesting. I thought all those people working for the City Government were lured into attending the shows because of their jobs, to help protect the operation. Now, though, it has been suggested that they started working for the City _after_ they became regular attendees. If so, they all made remarkable progress as far as promotions and all were concerned."

Kim had gone from shocked to thoughtful, as Shego talked. "Macheles was working to a plan, then? His own, or someone else's?" she mused aloud.

"Not sure, Princess, not sure. I don't think he ever wanted to operate openly, again because he feared the Aliens would come back and take his power. But, if he was working for someone else, is it our business? I'd have to think on that."

Kim frowned at that, but her gaze shifted to the two sleeping babies in their crib, and she suddenly felt tired. "_Can't right every wrong in the world, not even every one I know about, too much else to take care of, now."_

Shego could almost visibly see the burden settling on the girl's shoulders. "_And now I ask myself, do I want to help her carry this load? And if I do, can I? Or, would I just add to it?"_

She roused herself, and got to her feet. "Going down to check on everything, Kimmie, you have a baby monitor on the nightstand there, give a call if you need anything, we have the other one on downstairs." The girl nodded, then rolled over on her side, as Shego left the room. Within a few minutes, she had drifted into a normal sleep, the first real one she had had in weeks.

00000000000

When Kim woke, it was dark outside. Voices could be barely heard, through the partially open transom, also the only source of light for the room. Kim found the control for the bedside lamp, and turned it on at it's lowest setting, enough to see the two little girls still sleeping in the crib. "_And is that a sign I won't be sleeping much tonight? Heh, well, I 'll have someone with plenty of experience with me. Babysitting never required an overnighter, but I do remember many of the mothers asking me to keep the baby awake while I was there, hoping they would then sleep through the night."_

Licking dry lips, she was reaching for the glass of water on the bedside table when the door opened, and Eliana entered. "Kimberley? How are you feeling, little one?" She asked as she walked over and felt the girl's forehead. "A little warm, but nothing serious, I think, are you having any nausea?"

Kim shook her head. "No, I have a little dizziness, but no, no nausea. And no pain, either!"

"Good, good.." Eliana tucked the covers around her, while nudging her more to one side of the bed. "Make some room for your mother, she won't be up for a while, she says, but you should really get some sleep, I think those two will be waking you up all too early."

"Yes, Ma'am." Kim replied, though she didn't feel the least bit sleepy. After fussing over the babies for a few minutes, Eliana bade her goodnight, and went down the hall to her own room. Soon Kim heard the sound of the shower running, and her restlessness took over.

She carefully slid out of bed, finding her balance with a little effort. Padding quietly over to the crib, she gazed down at the sleeping babies. "_First time it's my own baby, or babies, I get to see like this." _She checked to see if they needed changing, and decided that that had already been done, and quite recently. "Hmm_, stealthy diaper changing? Not necessarily, I think I was really out, there."_ Still, an image of Shego doing it with a penlight held between her teeth popped into her mind, and she suppressed a giggle.

Looking up at the dim light shining through the transom, she decided that sitting alone was not the way she wanted to spend the evening. She was thinking of slipping quickly through the door and closing it behind her, then decided she would rather leave it open, so as to hear the babies if they woke. Even if the others had the monitor on, she wanted to be first to reach them.

The upper floor was dark, the light shining up from the living room through the rail. Deciding to stay undetected, if possible, she moved towards one of the columns spaced every twelve feet. "_Probably put me back to bed if they catch me up, and I guess they might have a point if they do." _Reaching the column, she slid to a sitting position on the floor, and pulled her knees up to her chest, sitting partially hidden from below by the column itself, and partly by the shadows it cast. She peered down into the living room.

Ron, JJ, and Rufus sat on one couch, while the Reeders were more sprawled then sitting on the other. She couldn't see Shego, or her mother, and wondered if either was in one of two easy chairs with their backs to her. Neither her mother or Doctor Chosa were visible, either. Four of the 'boys' were hanging about, Fred, Saul and Ben, as well as the newly named Goldie, who hung around JJ's shoulders. Kim took a moment to check her memory for the names of the missing ones. Below, Belle was giving an account of the fighting in the Rani's lair, and she could practically see the wheels spinning in Ron's head, as he turned the tale into a story in his own head. "_Said he's done using me as his muse, wonder if he can resist the temptation?"_ She leaned her head back against the column and listened to the conversation from below.

JJ was speaking, "I really wish Charley was here for this, but she said we should tell this story to you guys, especially Kim, before she decides whether to put up with us." Kim shifted her position a bit for a better view, risking discovery. "Let's start with Charley, though we can't give you any more detail then what we saw or she told us, obviously. When Charley was...excuse me, but some of our units of 'time' are different then yours, our home world had longer days then you have here, for instance, so what I say might not translate precisely, doing the math according to what the Global Justice guys figured out is a pain. Anyway, when Charley was seven or eight, she was abducted from her family. The person responsible was a scientist who had some sort of grudge against her parents."

"He took her to an entirely different star system, to a home he had built on our home world We knew very little about him, since he lived quite a distance from our homes. Anyway, he erased Charley's memory permanently, as far as her family, or even her name, were concerned. He also played around with her genetics, changing her hair and eye color, at least, maybe more."

Kim heard Shego mutter something unintelligible from wherever she was, and then apologize to her mother, who replied, "I may be a bit too ladylike to say that, Shego, but I certainly can think it, and I agree with the sentiment. Please, go, on, Miss Ko." They were both obviously where Kim had guessed, in the two easy chairs.

"JJ, please, Doctor Possible. Well, some time after that, the scientist started a project with an important sounding title, mainly to secure research funds. He called it 'Cybernetic Capabilities in an Organic Body', and he used Charley as a test subject for one of processes he intended to use on his final 'model'. That's how Charley got the ability to interface with remote video sensors, though the test ones were a whole lot cruder then the 'boys' here." She gestured at Goldie and Ben, who were the only ones visible to Kim now.

"Cybernetic Capabilities in an Organic Body, C, C, O, B?" Ron made it a question.

Belle nodded, "Yeah, Charley made her own name up from the initials, the scientist didn't bother giving her one, after he took her own away." the girl's tone suggested an anger she had long recognized as futile, but impossible to let go of.

"Anyway," JJ continued, "Charley lived in the underground section of this place, which was very large, both above and below ground, and designed like to be a fortress, though it didn't look much like one. There were other people there who eventually told her why she was there, but didn't know any details about her family. And, none of them paid much attention to her, either. Or maybe attention, but nothing emotional, they saw that she had all she needed to survive, comfortably, I suppose, but no affection at all."

"Though she was supposed to be restricted to certain areas, Charley didn't pay much attention to that. She was ignored by the scientist, once he tested her enough to determine that he had achieved his purpose with her, so her activities ceased to be of interest to him. He had no intention of doing more with her, or tormenting her family, he had his revenge and was satisfied with it."

"Anyway, one day Charley found her way into a sealed lab. Apparently, the scientist in question had once spent a lot of money to acquire an 'artifact' from an alien race that had defied analysis by several others before him. And it denied him, as well, until he became so frustrated, he stuck it in an isolated lab, and forgot it. Then Charley found it, and it reacted to her."

"Really? Do you know why?" Anne Possible asked.

JJ nodded "Oh, yes, it was simple. Because she was a child, and it's purpose was to interact with children and educate them, among other things. It helped Charley build the 'boys', because she wanted friends. She had to acquire the materials from various other areas, but her 'host' was so poor at managing his inventory, he never missed any of it."

"The boys got the powers Charley wanted, in one form or another. I mean, she didn't like pulling splinters out, so the boys got the ability to extract objects, and teleport people, when she expressed a desire to get around undetected easier. She didn't like cutting herself and bleeding, so the boys learned how to repair vascular tissue. Charley still wishes she had known more about the human body then, the boys would probably know how to fix even more things if she had."

"The scientist had put a tattoo on her, for some odd reason, probably to match whatever story he had prepared to explain her, if necessary. So, the boys can erase tattoos from the skin, a little skill we have all taken advantage of, since." Ignoring Ron's intrigued look, she pressed on, "The place where she slept was noisy, so the boys can generate a sound suppression field, or get together and make a field that can absorb more then sound. A forcefield, I guess, though it doesn't stop material objects. And they could help her sleep as well, and cause her to 'reset', if she showed signs of having a nightmare. All things a little girl might think of, as she has said many times since."

"Anyway, while she was living under the scientist's home, we were growing up in an agricultural community. It was surprisingly similar to Middleton, in a way, or a normal community here. We had school, and chores, and as much free time as we could manage. We all attended the same...Well, 'High School', you call it, the highest level of 'mandatory' education, I guess? We all were decent students, definitely not what you call 'Honor Roll', though." Belle muttered something, and a quick grin appeared on her sister's face, then was banished with a visible effort. JJ gave them both a mild glare, then turned back to Shego and Anne, "Then, they went and started a war. Keeping this simple, our area of space was pretty heavily colonized by man, but there was no unifying structure, or organization. Some attempts had been made, but they never had the means of enforcing their authority, unless several members happened to have a common cause that complimented their intent."

"Sounds familiar." Shego commented.

"Anyway, there were two human occupied worlds in our system, and the government of ours always thought the other, which depended on us very heavily for trade, should join us in one united political and trade entity. You see, they had a very valuable commodity, one we needed, but not as much as they produced, so they were doing pretty well financially in trade with other systems. They also appeared to be anarchic, to say the least, with a lot of random violence between different groups."

"So, your government decided to 'unite' the two worlds by force, and used the notion of establishing peace on this second world as a cause?" All three girls nodded in response to Shego's observation. The thief shook her head, "In some ways, Man will never change." She looked briefly upstairs, but didn't have an angle good enough to spot Kim, "Pipe dream to hope Milly wouldn't have to live with the same old human race when she grows up, isn't it? Sorry to interrupt, go on."

"Well, to be honest, most of the people on that second world welcomed the peace. And, they certainly didn't mind when we raised the price of their export, and they actually started making more from it. But, our control of that commodity didn't sit well with other worlds, and they decided to 'liberate' our new addition. It took them a while, and a lot of propaganda, to get their people behind the idea, and still longer to build up military and naval forces...That's starfaring navies, to be clear. Anyway, it took them some time to do that before they came after us."

"We were slow in militarizing ourselves, for several reasons, so it was bad luck that our assailants so badly flubbed their first offensive, that we were able to repel it. It made our Government appear to have been right all along that we needed to mobilize, and crushed any chance of a diplomatic solution. Plus, the fact we won got our blood up. So much so, that few actually considered the true odds against us, or recognized that our enemies would not be so careless again, and would be motivated by 'revenge' for their defeat."

JJ stopped to sip her drink before she continued. "Anyway, you don't need to hear the whole account of the war. Simply understand that our government was never willing to concede defeat, and always thought they could get allies to our side, or that the alliance against us would come apart. Neither happened, the first mainly because our politicians continued to try and deal as if they were in a position of strength, as long as we held the second world. And we did, right up to the last day, because our enemies bypassed it, and landed directly on our home world"

"Now, we weren't complete idiots, we didn't send all our best troops to the other planet, but once they controlled space, whatever was up there was useless to us, and was neutralized without our opponents having to use any of their armies on that world, so they were free to invade us. Three months after they successfully landed, the Government began conscription. Two months later, we became eligible for the same." Kim faintly heard her mother say, "My God."

"The scientist who had Charley had a son, fifteen years old, eligible for the draft though they wouldn't send him to the front until he was sixteen under the law. In any event, he probably never went. Because when they came for him, the scientist gave them Charley, instead."

"When she finished basic training, which was very abbreviated at that time, she was still too young, so they sent her to train as a medic. She kept the boys a secret all through training. It wasn't until they sent her to a combat unit that she let the secret out. And because of their usefulness, her fellow soldiers kept her secret, since they knew she and they would be dragged off to some lab for duplication, or something, if the higher ups, especially the MID, found out. That's 'Morale and Inspiration Division', by the way.

"Now, she didn't have that bracer then, and she could only see the boys' visual input, not what they could scan, but they still did a good job of patching soldiers up, getting bullets and shrapnel out of them, stopping bleeding and hemorrhaging. Also, evacuating wounded under fire, by teleporting them with the boys. It's a wonder that no one ever wondered about the unusual condition of the wounded they were receiving from that one company, though Charley helped any wounded close to her, even the enemies'. And she got plenty of opportunity, believe me."

"There was this young General, son of one of the senior military officers. That got him promoted quickly, and he sometimes deserved it, he pulled a few miracles off, but he also failed a few times, though those didn't get mentioned as his fault in the press. But, he always escaped, mostly because a squad of MID was assigned to make sure he did. He was a manufactured 'hero', and he knew it. Anyway, he finally got sick of it, slipped his 'minders' and got himself killed leading his troops. In response, the Army formed an 'elite' brigade, and named it after him. Whatever their original plan for it was, seventy percent of it was filled out by conscripts, three-quarters of them under twenty. Charley was one of them."

"They built it up in the propaganda, and committed it to two battles that were practically guaranteed victories. But then, one of the opposing Generals got so fed up with hearing about them over our broadcasts, that he planned a battle deliberately intended to destroy that Brigade rather then to gain any strategic objectives. And he did, too. Maybe nine percent of the brigade escaped. They didn't reform it, possibly because the General's father started talking peace, they just took what was left, and built it back up to battalion strength, and put it in the line. That's when the three of us joined it."

"We were all assigned to one company, not Charley's, though we were deployed adjacent to each other. And we hadn't all that much military discipline, I suppose because of the short training period. Anyway, how we met Charley was because the officers decided to make Belle and Beth the company snipers." Both sisters sat very tensely, looking from face to face for reactions. Kim could only see Ron and Rufus, and they both looked shocked. "They based that on their shooting scores in basic, nothing more. Plus, they asked some other guys first, and they managed to dodge it, so they _told_ the girls they were the snipers, and that was it. Of course, they were terrible at it."

"Hey!, we...we weren't terrible, we just didn't shoot everyone we should have!" A red-faced Belle exclaimed, "We shot _their_ snipers, and the gun crews that were shooting at our side, we just didn't shoot the guy with the hot meals, or the medics, and we were told to shoot _them_! By the MID, that is!"

Getting control of herself while her sister vented, Beth broke in, "They gave us no special training, just gave us these very fancy, and expensive, Laser Sniper Rifles, assigned us spotters, JJ was mine, and sent us out. The rifles were a pain, and we were told repeatedly that they were actually more important they we were! They had to be assembled for shooting, and then disassembled afterwards, covers placed on the focusing elements, all sorts of details! They were long, and we weren't supposed to run around with them assembled, outside of their carrying case. Their only advantage was they were practically undetectable with the naked eye. The 'pulse' they fired was so brief, the only way to see it would be to be within three degrees of it's line of travel, looking straight towards the shooter or the target, and 'blink' at just the right moment to see the afterimage in your own retina. And it made no noise whatsoever, though supposedly you might hear a _very_ brief 'buzz' if it passed within six inches of your ear."

"Anyway, we were never supposed to leave them lying around exposed, always put them in the bunker when we weren't out using them. But three days into our 'career', they were destroyed, and we were blamed, of course." She looked to her sister, who grimaced slightly, before taking up the tale.

"There was this guy from our school in the company. Only six months older then us, but they made him a corporal. And he had this friend, the usual heavyset guy who hangs around the 'hunk' for one reason or another. Anyway, the Corporal never liked us much, probably because we made an issue out of his claiming to have 'scored' with both of us...never mind, that's not important. So, this one day, we had just got back and taken my spotter to the Aid Station because she twisted her ankle. So, he's stuck trying to get some supplies moved into a bunker that were just dumped off a truck. He and his buddy aren't doing too well, then he sees the three of us and tells us to come help. We tried to tell him we needed to put our rifles somewhere safe, but he told us _Now!_"

"The thing is, there was an MID officer there, and he had to have seen what was happening, but he didn't say anything. So, while we're hauling the supplies into the bunker, a harassing barrage hit our area and both rifles were wrecked by a direct hit. And the MID guy, who saw all of this, blames us entirely! He ordered me and Beth to receive fifteen lashes each." She saw shocked looks all around. "Yeah, lashes! Now the whip didn't break the skin, but it excited the nerve endings with a drug, that kept the welts burning for hours! It also dyed the skin colors, with a preset order in which they were applied. They faded after a week, so you could tell how many times someone had been whipped, by the number of different colors on their backs. If you were a _real_ disciplinary case, you were called a 'Rainbow', for obvious reasons. So, we had to strip to the waist, and were hung from a horizontal bar by our wrists, feet clear of the ground. They gave us the lashes, and said we had to remain hanging there for three hours. But, less then an hour later, another barrage hit."

As Belle trailed off, Beth looked up, brought out of her own memories by the abrupt silence. Feeling she had to fill it, she took up the tale. "The odd thing is, we probably should have been killed by the first round. We were saved by the Corporal's friend. He was standing there, ogling us, when the first shell exploded behind him. Even though the Army got rid of most of his fat, he was still a heavyset kid. The shell exploded about three feet off the ground, and his body absorbed most of the shrapnel that should have killed us."

"Then, there were Charley and JJ, cutting us down and dragging us to a bunker. Good thing, too, at least one more shell exploded where it would have shredded us. But after the barrage the MID guy went ballistic! He ordered us strung up again, and given fifteen more lashes, because we didn't hang for the designated three hours! And he put Charley and JJ up besides us, and gave them thirty lashes each! He made us wear all our gear that went below the waist, to increase the weight, and told us we would stay there six hours! And we did! Anyway, that's how we first met Charley Cob."

JJ took over again, "We didn't see her much after that, usually a quick hello on occasion until the end of the war. But before that, just a few days before the end, our battalion and three others were pulled back close to the capitol. There, we suddenly received some weird replacements. They were all older then us, and tried to explain that by saying their protection from conscription had been lifted, but it didn't ring true. Some seemed to be better disciplined then we were after our abbreviated basic, and they seemed bossy for new soldiers, older or not. They also had trouble with names, _especially_ their own."

"Some of us finally caught on, they were ex-MID, and others who didn't want to be identified when captured, 'hiding' with line troops. They'd gotten new ID, not sure how for certain, and joined us at the front. Obviously a well organized little operation. Only trouble was, someone ratted on them all."

"We were well behind the front lines, and the enemy already had information that the war was about to end, but some of them wanted the people hiding with us _very _badly. Badly enough to commit their real Elite forces in an operation to surround and capture us. It wasn't a coordinated attack, one government's army launched it without telling the others, which caused all sorts of chaos for both sides, as their 'allies', thinking they were trying to grab the capitol for prestige, launched their own attacks to try and get there first."

"Not that we knew this at the time, we were dealing with this surprise attack! I guess you might call it an airmobile, or airborne, attack, or both, not sure. Anyway, they surrounded us, all right! Maybe if they had called upon us to surrender we would have, at that point. But, some of them went right on the attack, and we had to fight back. We basically killed each other for five hours to no purpose, because word came then that our military had overthrown the government, and unconditionally surrendered."

"The enemy collected all the unwounded survivors on our side, about 500 of us, a third of what we began the fight with. They took us about seventy kilometers to a base our own military had built but never put to use. It might have been meant as a POW camp for our side, but we got to occupy it first. It had sixteen separate barracks, built half underground, small vents instead of windows, only one door each."

"They took everything from us, after segregating us by gender. Clothes, jewelry, all personnel possessions, they didn't even let us keep our ID tags. They took fingerprints, retinal scans, and DNA samples from everybody. They divided us initially between 12 of the barracks, which each could hold 200, so we weren't crowded. We had running water, everything necessary for proper hygiene, and they fed us regularly. We had blankets we could wear, but not while they fed us, then they had to be folded on the beds. Keeping us naked might have had more to do with the weather because we were right at the end of our winter, and wouldn't have lasted long outside at night. But, our seasons were very abrupt in their changes."

"Anyway, three days later, they took out the people they were interested in. But they didn't tell the rest of us what they had planned for us which left us listening to rumors, most of them bad. Someone told our officers about Charley's 'boys', and they started planning an escape using them. They had Charley use them to scout around, and 'port people from barracks to barracks, the 'escape committee'. We were all young, I don't think there was a prisoner over twenty-five in the whole camp!"

"Three more days, and some people were getting nervous. Charley didn't like the fact that we hadn't had a clear day, she wanted to wait until we got a day without the overcast before we tried anything. But then a rumor that was taken too seriously started, that our captors were planning to execute the prisoners they had wanted, and one in three of the rest of us for hiding them. Some things we saw gave credence to the idea the guards were setting up some kind of 'lottery', and some assumed that the purpose was to choose the unlucky third of us who were to die."

"For the record, we were actually being held to prevent word getting out about where they were holding the 'special' prisoners, and for no other reason. But we were young, and had just been subjected to a short and brutal war, which we'd lost. So we may not have been thinking too clearly. Our barracks' senior officer, all of twenty-three years old, decided we had to begin the escape immediately. Charley tried to stall her, but some others backed her up and things got a little ugly. Charley finally gave in, and has hated herself for doing so ever since."

JJ had to pause to wet her throat again. She had her audience's rapt attention. "There was a light cruiser, a starship, equipped for ground bombardment, twenty thousand feet overhead, assigned there by one of the alliance leaders, who _really_ wanted to make sure these people were punished. The Captain of the ship didn't want to be there, as a 'glorified prison guard'. His instructions were to treat any 'major' escape attempt where any of the 'special' prisoners might escape as a serious matter to be stopped by whatever means necessary."

"If we had waited until morning, the skies were clear then, Charley would have seen the ship through the boys' eyes, and probably won her argument against the escape attempt. But we didn't, and the cruiser's sensors picked up the girls being teleported outside the camp almost immediately. And the Captain, who was subsequently convicted of a war crime for doing it, interpreted it as a 'Major' escape attempt."

"Twenty-two girls, including Belle and Beth, were safely out. We were doing it two at a time, Saul and Roy outside receiving, Fred and Ben inside dispatching. Naturally, they didn't trust Charley to go early, afraid she would take off as soon as she was out. Anyway, she wasn't linked to the boys because it gets a little dizzying when they use their teleport powers on others, so she didn't see what Saul and Roy saw. Fred and Ben did, though, and they turned away from the two they were supposed to 'port, and sent me and Charley instead."

"Charley was confused, but before either of us could say anything, we saw where they were looking, up over the camp. And then we saw the bombs coming down. Odd to think of a starship dropping bombs, isn't it? But why waste fuel when gravity is so convenient? They were penetrators, just like the bombs dropped on the mountain in Colorado. We saw them fall, then the rockets fired, and they went through the barracks' roofs. We saw the guards running for cover because they hadn't gotten much warning. One bomb per barracks, all direct hits, and everyone in them was killed. No survivors at all, that's how powerful the bombs were."

"Charley didn't duck the blast wave, it knocked her off the edge of the depression we had been ported into, to the bottom. Scared me, I thought she was dead, but I just found her crying, angry that she had given in. We couldn't see the cruiser that night, but it was pretty obvious what had happened."

"Eventually, the guards started after us. They had to collect their own casualties first, and curse the Navy, and all, and they were pretty angry when they started after us. It was cold, not quite freezing, and all we had were a blanket apiece. We were in a lava field, all broken up so there was plenty of cover, but running through it in the dark barefoot wasn't fun. There were vents occasionally, with steam coming from them, but at first we just saw them as traps, and avoided them. But eventually, our feet and legs were so bruised and scraped up we had to stop, so we ducked into one. Seven in our group, the rest had long since scattered on their own paths."

"Once inside, Charley kept Fred outside to watch. The guards were tossing explosives in the vents they came across, so Charley made us all squeeze into a small side crevice where the bomb was unlikely to bounce, and had the boys create their barrier across the entrance to it. That absorbed the force of the blast and concussion, and the guards considered anyone in the vent dead and left. We stayed down there two more days, even though it stank pretty bad."

"When we came out, it was more then twenty degrees warmer, so we didn't have to worry about hypothermia, at least. We did have problems with the three older women, who wanted to split up, with them taking Charley of course. They didn't get their way, and we parted company with them. A day later, we found an occupied farm and the people there gave us some food and clothing. That's when we found out what had happened in our own hometown, which was only twenty kilometers from there." JJ trailed off, and looked to the Reeders, as if imploring one of them to take over the tale. But they remained silent.

"You don't have to go on now, we're all a little tired, JJ, we can continue this another time." Anne Possible spoke gently to the girl.

JJ looked at her, weighing the choice, then shook her head, "No, Ma'am, I better finish this now, we might not actually get another chance."

"Our hometown wasn't in the front lines, or even close. But one night during a phased withdrawal by our forces a column of troops passed through it. And they were bombed while they were doing so. Our parents...Mine, and...the Reeders, everyone in the village, were killed! My mother and father were still in bed...they had no warning at all!" Tears were in almost everyone's eyes, but most especially the three girls.

Upstairs, Kim leaned her head back against the column, tears running down her cheeks. Then she sensed something and turned and looked up to see Eliana Chosa giving her a scowl, Saul floating by the doctor's shoulder. Taking a quick look at her door, she saw Roy, Walt, and George in a vertical row, peering out at her. As soon as she spotted them, however, they ducked from sight. Kim smiled weakly at the unhappy doctor. "Sorry, I couldn't sleep, really."

"Sitting on the cold floor, when you have a fever! You have to take better care of yourself, Kimberley, with a little one of your own to look after!" She scolded the girl then helped her to her feet.

As she did, Kim turned to look down, right into the eyes of her mother and Shego, both of whom were standing now. "'Kay, I'm in trouble now, for sure!" she murmured.

Ten minutes later she was back in her bed when her mother entered the room. Behind her, Kim saw the downstairs lights extinguish, or most of them, before her mother closed the door. She walked over and felt Kim's forehead, giving her a stern look afterwards. She then checked on the babies, and took her suitcase into the bathroom. Kim just lay there morosely, watching the three skulls hovering over the crib. "_Well, three little babysitters. Wonder how much help they'll turn out to be?"_

Her mother emerged shortly in a set of white pajamas, yawning widely, which caused Kim to decide not to bring up the subject of her reasons for acting the way she did. After another check on the babies, rearranging the covers over them, Anne got into bed. Trying to think of something to say before goodnight, Kim asked, "Did you have a nice trip down?" then grimaced at the lameness of the question. And then, she considered what traveling in T-Girl entailed, and suddenly blushed just as her mother turned to regard her curiously. "Ah! Sorry, that was lame, wasn't it? Sorry, Mom!"

"Why are you blushing, just because of a lame question?" Anne regarded her suspiciously, "Okay, give, young lady!"

"Oh, it's nothing, really! I was just thinking of you, um, traveling in T-Girl, is all."

Anne's face assumed a puzzled frown. "Traveling in T-Girl**?** Whatever is that...ohhhh, I think I see!" She shook her head. "Kim, dear, I have been in a few locker rooms in my time, you know, not exactly a new thing to be..." she trailed off as she saw Kim's gaze shift to her wedding ring. "Oh, well, I also take it off for surgery, you know. Come on, let's get some sleep, we may not get much, and I speak from experience!"

00000000000

Thundagirl never slept, of course, and never felt the need some sentient machines did to simulate such a state. She quite preferred to remain active, sensors on and sweeping, accessing communications channels at random and listening to the traffic.

Just past midnight, her sensors detected something familiar...

00000000000

A loud piercing wail rent the night, causing Ron Stoppable to tumble from the couch, flailing his arms to get clear of his blanket. "What the Heck is that!" JJ, falling off the other couch, didn't answer, just grabbed her Comm off the table. The Reeders appeared in the door to the den, and Shego at the rail above, as she keyed the transmit button, "T-Girl**! **What's wrong!"

"Get into cover, NOW! We're under attack!" came the voice from the sentient ship. All four teens on the lower floor looked at each other, and rather then seek the nearest cover, they collectively dashed for the stairs, as Shego headed for the same destination as them, the room with Kim, her Mom, and the babies.

00000000000

The siren also woke up thirty of the thirty-six UNIT engineers still camped at the Rani's old campsite, still engaged in recovering the last Tempusite cache. Six of the soldiers were already awake, on guard duty, when the noise began.

Captain Trevor Inch burst from his tent, dressing hurriedly with practiced ease. "What's going on, Sergeant!"

"Coming from the direction of the house, Sir, no idea..."

Then a tremendous explosion interrupted him, coming from the direction of Shego's house.

* * *

Well, okay, another cliffhanger, of sorts.

Please, Read and Review.


	17. Targeted

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference within.

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**Before the explosion, the Possibles' room.**

Anne Possible found it difficult to sleep, mainly due to the condition of her only daughter lying stiffly next to her. Stiff for no good reason, muscles tensed just short of rigid. Her eyelids flickered, though that would stop when they began to stick together from the secretions leaking from the corners of her eyes. "_Can't give her a muscle relaxant or anything, there's no information on drug interactions regarding that medicine already in her!"_

Anne had read the same instructions from Doctor Pharm that Eliana Chosa had gone by since she began treating Kim. The doctor had apparently done little research into such interactions. "_And he won't produce any more of his formula, just because one drug company tried to steal it from him!"_

Trying to verbally sooth Kim had been unsuccessful, every attempt had woken her from the half-sleep she was in, so Anne had given up. "_How would I have handled this, if I had been told about the problem? I would have saved my daughter, she knows that! But, I would have wasted time trying to find an alternative to that drug, and from what I have learned, it _is _the only cure that would have worked. And I would have given it to her, and ruined my career, even gone to jail, anything for my child!"_

She began to wonder exactly how she would have done it. "_Not at the hospital, obviously. Nor at home, not and get Jim and the boys involved. Would have needed somewhere quiet, isolated." _She continued in this vein for a while, before a small noise from the crib diverted her thoughts to another path. "_The babies will have to be examined when we get home. If Kim is determined to go public with her story, they'll be the center of a lot of controversy. Doctor Cook is getting close to retirement, I wouldn't inflict that much attention on him. Emily Maisfield up in Upperton would be better, she can handle the press, that's for sure."_

"_But, what exactly are we going to tell everyone? Charley Cob supposedly had a story figured out, and where's she now?" _Anne grimaced in distaste. "_That was probably terribly unfair, she was hurt pretty bad, according to..." _A thought struck her. After a few minutes of contemplation, she carefully got out of bed, trying her best not to disturb Kim.

Walking over to the table with the flower vase on it, she found Charley's bracer, left in the room to be used if either Kim or the babies needed it. Frowning at it for a moment, she turned towards the crib, making out the forms of at least two of the little skulls floating over it. One was clearly Walt, easily visible even by the faint moonlight shining in. Feeling a little silly, Anne whispered, "Can one of you turn this on for me?" After a moment, the less visible skull approached her, then moved to the bracer. A brief flicker of light from it's eyes, and the bracer came to life. It then turned to her, as if waiting for further instructions.

"Can you bring up a recording of the last time Charley scanned herself?" The skull, which was Roy, hesitated. Adopting a stern tone, even while whispering, Anne repeated her request, adding, "I'm a doctor, I really want to see if she was hiding anything dangerous to her health." Walt drifted closer, and Roy spun to glare at him. But after a moment, he turned back to the bracer and interfaced with it. Soon enough, displays Anne could understand were playing across it.

Studying them, she frowned. "As bad as Kim!" she muttered, "Running around with these injuries!" She turned and went back to the bedside table, and took up her own cell phone. Kim may not have known it, but Wade had done a few modifications on her mom's communications, too. Picking up the bracer, Anne moved to the balcony, opened her phone, and keyed in a number she never expected to use.

It took a few minutes, but the sound of Betty Director's voice eventually came through. "Doctor Possible? If you're looking for information about Kim..." The voice was puzzled, but Anne was relieved to hear it sounding alert.

"No, Doctor Director, I happen to be with Kim, in fact. I wanted to talk to you about Charley Cob, actually. And I do apologize if I woke you." Anne had to wait a minute, as Betty clamped down on the urge to speak before she had her thoughts organized. "_Knows well enough to have brain in gear before engaging mouth. That shouldn't surprise me." _Anne thought.

"No, you didn't wake me, Doctor Possible. I will probably be up another hour at least, catching up on paperwork. You know, you're running something of a risk being there, from what Charley told us when she arrived."

"Only if you pursue any charges regarding her medical treatment, which I understand might compromise some opportunities for you, Doctor Director. But, if you intend to charge Eliana Chosa for her actions, then I do not intend for her to stand alone after what she did for my daughter, are my intentions clear?"

She heard a sigh come over the phone. "Doctor Possible, do you object to continuing this on a first-name basis? That would be Betty, for me, if you didn't already know."

"_Is that a stall?" _Anne smiled slightly, "That's perfectly all right with me, Betty. Now, which topic are you prepared to give a definitive answer on? Let's start with the last one first, if you please."

A barely suppressed snort came over the phone. "All right, Anne. No, I will not pursue charges against Doctor Chosa, nor pass information to any local authorities concerning her actions. As you say, it would compromise a possibly fruitful operation. As to Charley, why the sudden interest? But first, how did you get together with Kim?"

"Well, a guilty young man contacted me as soon as he had news of Kim, and he also had a slight dilemma, regarding obtaining certain 'supplies', you could say. So, having the experience to know what was needed, I basically ended up volunteering for the job. Which led to me hitching a ride, with three young ladies in a talking ship."

"Ah! And Charley?"

"I just studied recordings of her medical scans stored in this bracer of hers. And I'm not happy with her condition. Just stopping the bleeding is not always enough, though she seems to have thought so." Anne spoke with a typical doctor's disapproval for the neglect of one's health.

"If you are referring to the _hemothorax_, that is being taken care of. And the damage to her sternum and ribcage are being dealt with as well as the internal bruising. There are other problems, but they fall into the category of elective surgery, my doctors tell me."

"Elective? Perhaps so, but does she even know she has these problems? One will have to be treated soon, or the chances of her bearing children herself will be greatly diminished. And it's not a recent injury, either. Even if she knows she has these injuries, she may not know their long term effect." Then the thought struck her, that maybe Charley knew full well the implications of leaving things as they were.

"Telling her is problematic, Anne, not all her problems are physical. She is currently sedated, because she has had a breakdown of sorts. To listen to my chief psychologist, after some 'expert' advice, the enormity of certain things she did in the past has caught up with her. She is a very responsible girl, and she now sees things she did as very irresponsible for one person to undertake with what was at stake. She's like someone who has just dashed across a rickety bridge, and only now, she's turned around to see how far she would have fallen if the bridge had collapsed. She's frightened of what could have happened, rather then anything that will happen."

Anne digested this a moment. "Is this psychologist one of the ones who did those six evaluations of my daughter?"

She almost felt Betty wince at the other end of the line. "No, this one is new. Wish I could have classified those reports, sometimes!"

"You would have had to classify Kim, too. Otherwise, as the parent of a minor, any medical or psychiatric tests performed..."

"Yes, Anne! I know your rights, you had to be allowed to access those files. Speaking of Kim, how is she?" a note of genuine concern came into her voice.

Anne hesitated, then spoke with the slightest tremor in her voice, "I honestly don't know what's going to happen to her, with all this at once, Betty! The baby, that damned video! If we're lucky, she's through with this treatment, and can concentrate on building her strength back up and trying to get her life back in some sort of order. But, she's not making the easiest choices!"

"And that surprises you? Sorry, shouldn't have said that, but I _do_ sympathize. I might be able to help with the baby, you know, documentation, arrange some form of adoption, but you and your husband would have to do it, no court would give custody to a minor with Kim's lifestyle. Of course, with her eighteenth birthday in three weeks...No, still not likely, is it?"

"Not likely at all, since Kim's going to tell people the truth, that it's her baby. She won't tell anyone about that woman's true nature, of course, but otherwise she intends to tell the truth as much as possible." There was silence from the other end for nearly a minute.

"Anne, I don't know if that's possible. I mean, credit a human scientist with doing what was done? I mean, that would certainly draw interest to our little project, but, really!" Despite her words, Betty sounded intrigued. "How will you explain it?"

"We won't! Not all of it. Just because all of Kim's other villains rant and explain the whole plan to her doesn't mean this one did. Let the press and others speculate as much as they want! One DNA test proves our story, even if we don't have all the details! In fact, this might work out bet..."

Then suddenly the sound of Thundagirl's siren wailed through the night...

00000

**Before the explosion, Shego's bedroom.**

Unable to drop off to sleep, Shego leaned against the railing of her own balcony, looking southward into the darkness. Her room was expensively furnished, but with less of her trademark green and black then one might have expected. "_Anything can get boring, Eliana, and it's not like I'm planning to blend in with the décor, like some ninja!"_ A large canopied bed dominated the room, and the only part of her bathroom shielded from view was the toilet, the large, sunken marble bathtub and multi-head shower were open to the rest of the room. She did have a walk-in closet as big as the den downstairs, however.

As she gazed out into the night, she wondered why she was having trouble sleeping, it wasn't often a problem with her. "_Guilt at putting both babies in with Kimmie? Maybe I'm staying up in anticipation of that infamous 2 AM feeding that some mothers claim comes standard with all babies?" _She smirked at that thought. And abruptly became aware that she wasn't alone. "Thought we were all finished?" She asked, not turning around.

The voice that replied was Doctor Cardien's. "Well, almost. Wanted to make sure we're clear on a few things. But first, I'm curious, you found out Doctor Morrisey was in a coma _before_ you submitted to my 'treatment' of you, yet you went through with it, why? As you said yourself, you are not a trusting soul."

Shego nodded, "Well, that one's hard to explain, let's just say I got some...good advice."

Her visitor's eyebrows raised in curiosity, but Shego didn't elaborate. "Ah. Well, I wanted to talk to you about your powers, and whether this time you've received the full 'arsenal'. The first time, you never did get all of it mastered."

"I wondered about that." Shego admitted, "I always felt that they were incomplete, but they weren't that much more versatile them Hego's, so..." She trailed off questioningly.

"Well, let's see if I can explain. Each 'power set' had variations, based on what the program believed the subject could handle intellectually. Henry, or Hego, got the simplest version of the 'strongman' set, merely strength and invulnerability. There were more sophisticated versions, but the program didn't think he had the brainpower for them. You, on the other hand, were very bright, and it gave you a extremely versatile power set, which you proceeded to use as a blunt instrument, basically." Shego winced slightly at that.

"To be fair, you did start to figure out some 'tricks' you could do, but you never actually realized the full potential. For instance, your plasma naturally has a thermal, and an Electro-magnetic component, as well as sheer blunt force. You should have been able from the start to vary the amount of those components as you saw fit, in whatever form you used your plasma. You should be able to form some kind of plasma 'claws' in fact...oh! Yes, just like those!"

Shego was holding up her right hand, fingers spread. Two four inch 'claws' made of emerald plasma extended from her pointer and middle fingers. 'Cardien' frowned, "Just those two fingers?" Shego nodded, making a 'v for victory' sign. Then she duplicated the claws on her other hand, and made 'air quotes', "Just these four digits, Doc, any ideas why?"

'Cardien' shrugged, "No idea, really! Anyway, the plasma stream you used in your cell is really only useful for wearing something down, but it does tax your power greatly. As to your 'explosive blast'?" she rolled her eyes theatrically, "Really Shego, 'unfocused release' is all it is, you just overcharged it! It's original purpose was for some grand display when your team emerged victorious in battle. You were supposed to raise your arm to the sky, and release a harmless amount of plasma in such a blast, preferably with the press recording it for posterity!"

Shego grimaced in disgust, "Ugh! How corny can you get! Glad I didn't know that before! Still, might be useful to know I can overcharge that power." She leaned against the door frame, a smile coming back to her face. "So, no defensive powers? Other then the fast healing, which I guess might count."

"Well, you can generate an energy shield, which will absorb EM radiation, radar pulses, etc."

"Oh, swell! I can walk around and not be picked up on radar, that's useful!"

"Um, well, you can also extend the shield to encompass any vehicle or aircraft you are in, as well. Within a reasonable size limitation"

Shego's eyes bulged, "What! Do you know how much it cost me to have my plane 'stealthed'!? And I could have done it myself, the whole time?! Doy!" then she calmed, as a thought struck her. "Oh, wait, might have worn myself out that way, right?" her visitor nodded, "Heh, sorry for the drama! Oh, one more thing. In that 'vision' you showed me, that machine looked just like the Attitudinator should, but I get the feeling, it didn't look that way at the time, and you disguised it!"

"Guilty! The real machine was much less ostentatious, and more convenient to carry around, but didn't suit Henchco's marketing department. So, they dressed it up a bit."

Shego rolled her eyes. "That figures! So, anything else?"

"No, you pretty much know your powers, now. There should be no reason for us to meet again, Ana Bla...er, Whitlock."

Shego frowned slightly, but then spoke quickly when her visitor began to fade a little."Wait! One more big question!" Shego made a sweeping gesture across her own body, "Twenty years old? Care to explain why you did that?"

"Not our doing, Ana, you did that yourself!"

Shego's jaw dropped, "Huh? _I_ did it? How the hell...Wait, let me guess, it was that stuff the Rani used on us, that Tempus-stuff, right?" her visitor nodded, "But it was my doing? What, did it react to some desire of mine to be young again? And what about the others, did they all want that, too?"

"Well, one might make a convincing argument that Kim might want to 'delay' growing up, or the other girls wanted back the years they lost to the war, but, no, that was all your doing as well. And it all happened in the time your ship initiated it's jump, and we stabilized you within our own environment. Imagine what might have happened, if we hadn't interrupted your journey!"

Shego blinked, and made a face, "What, I would have gotten younger? Wait, on your ship, or wherever you had us, I don't think I looked younger, and neither did the babies!"

"That's because you never really 'saw' yourself on our ship, Shego, that was all in your head, so everything matched your own memories. Oh, and if you're wondering why you adjusted to being a parent so fast, that was the Tempusite, as well. It accelerated your subconscious, in a way. Also, while in that chamber, somehow Kim Possible used the means by which your skills were passed to the babies to form a bond with you, and between you you hashed out all your feelings about one another, parenthood, who knows what else! As to the uneven distribution of the rejuvenation, I have no explanation for that. When we saw how young the babies had become, we were responsible for you starting to lactate again, however."

"Well, you deserve a qualified 'Thank You', for that, heh!" Shego smiled, "No, make that an unqualified Thank You, I wouldn't have missed nursing Milly for anything." She looked at her visitor curiously for a moment, "And now the big question, why you did all this? Let me guess, something I'd rather not know?"

A deep sigh issued from her visitor, "A failing of all races who take up a 'non-intervention' policy, Ana, is they all have certain individuals who can't stay within that policy's bounds, let's leave it at that, shall we?"

She walked over to the window, and looked out, "Time to go, Ana. I wish you good luck. Know that we will be keeping an eye on you and your brothers, as well as those four girls, and anything we gave you, we will maintain. But from now on, hands off, you're completely on your own from here on out. Again, Good Luck!"

As Shego opened her mouth to reply...

The sound of Thundagirl's siren split the night.

00000

"I don't know!" Anne Possible almost shouted into the phone in answer to Betty Director's half-heard question. Then, as the siren ceased, she clearly heard T-Girl's voice from downstairs, obviously coming over someone's communicator. "Get under cover NOW! We are under attack!"

"Mom! What's happening?" Kim was frantically trying to untangle herself from the bedclothes.

"Kim! Get under the bed! I'll get the babies! Just get under the bed!" Anne only had to take two steps to reach the crib, where she found to her shock only one baby, and Walt. But almost instantly, the sound of the other little girl crying, coming from under the bed, told her what had happened. And at that moment, the second baby vanished, just as she was starting to wail as well. Outside, an odd rattling noise could be heard, after if someone had dropped a bunch of rocks on the rooftop above them. Mixed with that was a sudden low rumble, close overhead.

Not hesitating herself, Anne dove to the floor and slid under the bed, cradling one baby, as a half-blind Kim hugged the other to her. The bedroom door flew open just then , but before Shego could enter, an explosion shook the house. Shego threw both hands over her head, as if to shield it, and dropped to her knees in the doorway. Eliana Chosa, just emerging from her room, was pushed down and shielded by Ron Stoppable, as the three girls following him went down as flat as they could on the stairs.

Amazingly, nothing but dust fell on their heads, as the vibrations of the explosion died away. Shego was moving before they faded, scrambling on hands and knees to the bed, from which she heard the sounds of the distressed babies. She found Kim on her side, rubbing at one eye with her fist to clear it, holding Milly close. She could see Anne's white pajamas clearly in the dark, and that she held Amy to her chest. "Are you all all right?!" was her frantic question.

Anne Possible answered, "I think so, Shego, I think we're all fine, though I'm not sure how, did that bomb miss?"

Shego shook her head, "Something weird happened, I don't know what! Kim, give Milly here, and come out yourself!" Everyone was crowding into the room, and seemed to be collectively holding their breaths. Then came a voice through the window. "Ronald! Can you hear me, Ron?"

"Rufus? Buddy, what are you doing out there?" The boy ran to the balcony and spotted his friend standing near the pool's edge. "Rufus, I don't know if it's safer out there or in here.."

"Don't come out! Stay indoors, Ron, all of you!" The mutant Mole Rat cried.

JJ Ko was besides Ron, now, peering into the dark, looking for something. "Did anyone else hear something falling on the roof? A lot of somethings, maybe?"

"I did!" Anne Possible answered.

A look of comprehension mixed with horror appeared on Shego's face, as well as those of the Reeder twins. "Oh, God, no!"

00000

"Sergeant Greer! You, six men, including one of the medics, we'll take the first two vehicles!" Captain Inch shouted his orders as he dashed back into his tent for the rest of his gear, "Leftenant Block! You're in command here. Set up a perimeter, keep them on alert. Send four more men to reinforce the sentries at the dig site, warn them that that may have been a diversion. And contact UNIT HQ, inform them of our situation, and that I am investigating the explosion!" Two sharp 'Sirs!' and one muttered, 'bloody loud diversion!' answered him.

When he emerged from his tent Corporal Lacy saluted him, "Sir! I believe that detonation was airborne, at least a hundred feet above the ground, Sir!" Inch nodded, "Very good, Corporal, Carry On!" He then dashed to one of the two American-made Hummers his troops had been lent by the local UNIT force. As he got into the lead vehicle he ordered the driver to proceed with all caution, but swiftly.

00000

"T-Girl**?** What happened, are you okay?" JJ was talking into her comm. Beth switched the lights on, and took a head count, while Belle made a quick visual check of all of them, looking for any unreported injuries.

"Sorry, Betty, didn't think you'd still be on, we were just bombed by someone!" Anne had found her cell still active after all her actions. She passed Amy to Kim, who was sitting on the bed now, still trying to clear her vision.

"Rufus! Hold still, still as you can! Like you already are, but stiller!" Ron's own face screwed up in a frown when he replayed his own last words, but he shrugged off the irrelevancy. Spinning to see Fred hovering at his shoulder, he almost kissed the little skull, "Fred! You guys have to get Rufus out of there, Please!" Fred just turned and lowered himself to three feet from the floor, and a very relieved mutant mole rat appeared out of thin air to join the crowd. "Buddy!" Ron cried, even as he took a quick look back out the window, to see Goldie come flying out of the darkness, "You guys Rock!"

"Whoa! I actually felt that!" Thundagirl's voice came from JJ's comm. "Oh, don't exit the house, there were two devices dropped, I couldn't intercept the first one! It was some kind of cluster munitions dispenser! They're all around the house, now, and some are on the roof!"

"Did you see who did it?" JJ asked, suspecting she knew the answer. And she wasn't the only one present with that feeling.

"Same plane as in Colorado, I just detected it in time!"

Shego began to get very angry. "They were after me! They almost killed everyone, they almost killed my baby, because they were after me!" She looked at Anne, and the phone in her hand, "Did you say Betty? Betty Director? Let me have that!" Despite the abruptness of the request, Anne handed the phone to the woman, who shifted a still upset Milly so she could hold her with one arm as she took the phone. "Hey! Someone is using a bomber, just to get me?" Kim was a little unsettled by the note of near hysteria in Shego's voice. "_It's Milly, of course! I don't know how I'd sound right now, myself!"_

"Shego, calm down! There have been other attacks since Colorado, it isn't just you personally! Monkeyfist and WWEE have both been attacked, as well!"

Shego, close to hyperventilating, got a grip on herself, but wasn't finished. "Yeah? And how did they find out where I was living, Betts? And why did they attack the same day Charley Cob went to you, and probably told you where I live?" the accusation in her tone was unmistakable.

"Charley didn't tell us where you lived, Shego. But, we learned Eliana Chosa's name from her, and tracked down her residence, but only three hours ago! Whoever is doing this would have had to move awfully fast, if someone here leaked that info to them!"

"Then they moved awfully damn fast!!" Shego snapped, "Now, excuse us, we have to get out of a deathtrap, talk to you later!" Shego ended the call and returned the phone to Anne Possible. She then opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Kim.

"Right, I want three of you skulls..." She looked at Saul, "Saul, you pick two to go with you, and get outside the area where the bomblets have fallen, so we can teleport everyone out, okay?" After a moment's hesitation, the steel skull bobbed, and zipped out the balcony door, with George and Roy in company. "All right, we use all but Fred, here, to teleport from this end. Fred, can you scan the bomblets, and show us what you see on Charley's bracer? Be careful, we don't know what will set them off." The black skull bobbed as well, and exited.

"Everyone else, grab some clothes, but hurry!" Kim turned to see Shego smirking at her.

"Back in the saddle, Princess?" Kim felt a small blush rising in her cheeks, as Shego nodded, "Okay, you're the boss, until you say something stupid, then it's my turn!" she was grinning as she said it, and after a moment, Kim grinned back, and nodded agreement.

00000

"UNIT forces, do not approach the house! I Repeat, do not approach the house!" Captain Inch signaled a halt even as he reached for the microphone on the vehicle's radio. "Please identify yourself, and explain your warning!"

"This is JJ Ko, I'm inside the house. A cluster bomb dispenser has distributed what I believe may be called Area Denial Munitions around the house! We are trying to use a remote scanner to examine them, but may not have the expertise to identify them properly."

"I see! Just a moment!" He considered his next decisions carefully. "All right, if you can transmit the data from your scanner, we have some experts back at our camp with the necessary communications equipment to receive your signal, hopefully!" Releasing the transmit switch, he turned to find Sergeant Greer outside his window. "Sergeant, dismount the men, we will be staying put until we determine the size of the area these munitions have covered!" He then called the camp, where his conversation with JJ had been monitored, and was told that a link was already being established, albeit by the oddest system of relays his senior communications man had ever seen. "Well, Corporal, that seems to be par for the course for this whole mission, Carry On!"

00000

When everyone had reassembled in the bedroom, except Anne Possible, who was still dressing in the bathroom, Kim started giving orders. "First three out will be Mom, Doctor Chosa, and Ron. Next, the two babies and Rufus. Then, Shego, and the Reeder sisters. Me and JJ will go last, as soon as we get as much data on these bombs as we can for UNIT, any questions?" Naturally, everyone tried to talk at once. Her mother's cellphone also began to ring, and to top it off, so did the girls' comms.

Kim waved her free hand for silence, while snatching up the phone, "Doctor Director? What?...Oh, I guessed that might be true!...Thanks, call you when everyone is safe!" She disconnected and looked up, a no-nonsense look on her face, "Doctor Director confirmed that some attacks have had ground assistance. Ron, I need you to watch out for more trouble out there, got it?" Comprehension showed on his face, but he still wasn't completely happy with the choices. "And, I _am _going last, as the leader of this group, no arguments!"

She looked at the three skulls still hovering in the room. "Go to it, guys!"

JJ, meanwhile, was trying to study the scans Fred was sending them, and dealing with Wade Load on her comm, as well as trying to hear what the UNIT expert was telling her and his officer. Fortunately, Wade went silent when he realized what was being discussed. "I honestly don't recognize the specific model, Sir, and am embarrassed to admit it! However, it is a straightforward design for a smart device, fragmentation, with a proximity fuse triggered by motion above a certain scale, activated seconds after the device came to rest. These are safe if you avoid them, there does not seem to be a back-up timing mechanism. There does appear to be an anti-tamper device, any movement of the bomblets themselves will detonate them."

Fred apparently shifted position, and began to send a new scan. The excitement in the UNIT man's voice went up a notch. "This is a different matter entirely, Sir! incendiary device, and it has a timer running! Ah, good, we can read it! Nineteen minutes to detonation, odd for it to be so long, in my opinion!"

JJ looked up to find herself alone save for Kim, Goldie, and Walt. "Nineteen minutes until the firebombs go off, that would have driven us out into the frags, or incinerated our remains if the big bomb had hit!" Kim's jaw set in a grim line, and she nodded to Walt. JJ made sure she had the bracer in hand as she was teleported out.

"What about the pool?" Ron was asking, as she materialized. Shego shook her head, "Not sure, can anyone tell me if the stuff in them burns underwater?"

"Yes, it does, Miss!" came the voice they'd heard on the radio, as Captain Inch appeared, followed by three of his men. He gazed towards the house, lit by the few lights left burning when they departed. "Afraid it will be impossible to collect all the incendiaries and save the house, in the time we have left." He looked around the group, "Err, how did you get out, may I ask?"

"Same way we're going to save the house, we have seven little minesweepers to do the job, we just need a safe place to put those incendiaries, so they don't set the jungle on fire!" Shego replied.

"The jungle is so wet, I don't see it igniting, Ana." Kim commented, "Between us and the UNIT men, we should keep it contained."

Shego looked doubtful, but then Eliana interjected, pointing, "There is a small gully, just over there, with no vegetation in it, Ana."

Ron looked puzzled by Kim's use of Shego's other name, but then got the idea. "_Forgot how hard it is to recognize Shego, now that she's not green anymore! Better not tip UNIT to who she is!"_

Kim exulted."That's it! You guys get to work, concentrate solely on the firebombs, right?"

Inch was still confused. Belle was talking quietly into her comm, then she looked up, "Thundagirl says no unknown targets in the area, she's going to light things up." As she spoke, the ship did exactly that, lighting all her lights that bore on the ground below. Anne and Eliana shielded the children's eyes from the bright light. Both little girls were fussing, and were handed to their mothers, though only after Kim was safely seated on a large rock, and Shego could be convinced she wouldn't have to fight.

Unwilling to ask what was going on, and realizing an explanation wouldn't be forthcoming, Inch began to organize. "Get all usable tools from the vehicles, we may have to contain a very hot fire! Sergeant Greer, call the camp and tell them to send...eight more men, remainder to stay put until further orders!"

The UNIT medic circulated among the group, asking all whether they needed his attention. Finding none of the people did, he regarded Rufus with curiosity. "I've met a few odd ones in my time, are you native to earth?"

"Actually, I...Yes, I am just a bit, err, enhanced." Rufus answered, after considering what being in UNIT entailed, that the medic had actually expected a verbal response. "_At least, he's obviously not prone to 'freaking out', though he may be the last I meet with so blasé an attitude!"_

Only Saul went to the gully, as the other six swept through the grounds, relaying their targets to him as fast as was practical. After fourteen of the nineteen minutes were up, they were already double-checking the areas already swept. The UNIT reinforcements arrived, and T-Girl descended to take the babies and the women aboard, with JJ and the Reeders gearing up to help with the firefighting, if necessary. Kim, her Mom, and Eliana Chosa took seats in the cockpit, and Kim kept her promise to call Doctor Director and fill her in.

After giving Betty all the information she had on the situation, Kim listened in turn to recaps of the attacks that had occurred since the one on Drakken's lair. News that Monkeyfist had killed several of his attackers caused a deep frown. "_At least, neither Chippie or Bates appear to have been harmed." _She asked if Betty believed that WWEE would mistakenly retaliate against Global Justice, but the response was noncommittal. "We'll just have to see, Kim. Have you decided when you're returning home?"

Kim only hesitated a moment, "Tomorrow, there's no point to putting it off, anymore. We aren't safe here if this bomber decides to attack again. And there is an advantage to being seen as I currently look, when I try and explain all this publicly!"

"As to that, I wish you might reconsider, Kim, I'm sure you don't have to tell the whole truth about your baby, because along with that video in circulation, you could do terrible damage to your reputation."

"I don't just help the people who accept me, Doctor Director. I have to live the truth, I can't lie to the public, because I never want to tell my daughter that I was ever ashamed of her! Besides, how would having a pregnancy forced on me damage my rep?" Kim winced at her own choice of words. "_Have to downplay the fact it was against my will, even while making it clear...gah! There's no way people will understand how I can't resent Amy, at least some people won't be able to!"_

"I don't think...Ah, I've to go, Kim. I do hope this works out for you, I really do, no matter where our relationship stands. Good Luck, and Godspeed!"

Through the viewing ports, a bright white-yellow light suddenly flared in the jungle. The three girls and Ron exited, with all the useful tools available.

"Kim, have you decided exactly what we need to say, when we eventually talk to the press?" Anne asked her daughter.

"Well, you know I can't lie worth a...darn, so maybe I shouldn't do the talking, at all!" Kim's attention was mostly on Amy.

"I think it's about time we dispelled that belief, young lady!" Her mother's sharp tone made Kim look up in surprise, and drew a puzzled frown from Shego. "You must have a very selective memory, if you think you never lied well!"

Kim was flabbergasted, "What? When? I never told you...oh!"

"Okay, this is definitely news, Kimmie actually lied to you guys? Other then on that one Halloween? What was she hiding?" Shego's interest was definitely piqued.

"Not for herself, of course!" Anne replied, with a stern look. Then, she let a smile slowly grow on her face, "But for young Ron, oh, Yes!"

"Mom!" Kim was blushing furiously, "I was just trying to protect...I mean, Dad would have been mad! I know he wouldn't do anything...Mom, I was eight years old!"

"The first time, perhaps, but what about the lawnmower, when you were nine? And your father's notes, that one time when you were ten? I know Ron never meant to do those things, he was just being himself, but you did deny knowledge of the responsible party to your father's face, didn't you?" The smile remained on Anne's face, while the tone was gently scolding.

Kim was silent just a moment, then quietly replied, "Yes, Mom, I guess I did. But, that was different! I mean, this is telling lies to the whole world!" "_And how long did you know that I lied? I'm so sorry to have done it, I was just protecting Ron! Maybe that's why you forgave me for doing it."_

"What lie? You'll say Elizabeth Reithan did this to you, and that's true! You'll say you don't understand how she did it exactly, and that's true! You'll say that she experimented on you, and _that's_ true! All you may have to be untruthful about is how you got involved in this situation in the first place. And, how DNAmy was involved, probably. You can say truthfully that she was also Reithan's victim, and you named your daughter after her because she died helping to save your baby's life, which is true, isn't it?"

Kim nodded sourly. "But, I also have to tell the truth about Shego being Amy's other parent, and me being Milly's, just in case something happens to one of us, how do you think that will go over?"

"Well, how long do you think it will be until it becomes possible to mix DNA from two women, and make a baby, in the lab, Kimmie?" Shego pointed out, then smirked, "We're just ahead of our time, is all!" Kim rolled her eyes, as did her mother.

"You will have great difficulty with many people of Faith, both of you." Eliana cut in, "No matter how you explain it. Of course, there is no reasonable alternative explanation to part of your story, but it is not absolutely necessary to admit to the shared parentage. I am not trying to dissuade you, I merely wish to point that out to you."

Both young women didn't hesitate in shaking their heads. "No, we aren't leaving anything to chance with these little gems." Shego smiled down at Milly.

At the gully, no one could even get close to the ignited incendiaries, though all kept an eye open for any sign that the fire was igniting the jungle. Many plants were clearly withering in the intense heat, but no combustion had occurred as yet. "How long will they burn?" Ron asked Captain Inch, as both shielded their eyes from the glare, which was intense, even though all the bomblets themselves had ignited below the rim of the gully, out of their sight.

"Not long, they did not have much fuel to start with. Anything at all combustible in contact with one of those would be burning in a matter of seconds, and unchecked, the flames would quickly spread." Even as he spoke, the glare diminished, though several small spot fires were now breaking out. The heat diminished, as well, but not much. "Right, Lads! Let's get into it, but take care of the heat!" Inch bellowed, so as to be audible to Sergeant Greer and his men, who were on the opposite side of the gully. Ron moved forward with them, wielding his shovel with skill. He and Kim had experience with brush and forest fires.

Two hours later, all six occupants of T-Girl's cockpit were dozing, despite a series of small explosions in the jungle. The fragmentation bomblets' anti-tampering device was being used against them. Of course, their designer hadn't anticipated the device being teleported. So, just by teleporting them into a small depression well clear of the house, such that they dropped a few inches to the ground, was sufficient to detonate them. And their blasts were nowhere near destructive enough to harm the skulls, one or two of whom seemed to be making a game of the activity.

One of each type of bomblet had also been defused, so they could be sent to Global Justice's forensic lab. A GJ team was on the way already to collect them, as well as fragments of the bomb that had detonated on top of T-Girl**. **

00000

"Well, since only her mother has her own passport, Kim can't go on a commercial flight, especially with the babies!" Shego was talking to a remarkably polite Global Justice agent, the leader of the team who had come for the bombs and fragments. She entertained the thought he actually didn't know who he was talking to, but dismissed it. "_Ol' Betts would never send them in without warning them about me, and normal skin color and a short 'do aren't enough to fool him. Still can't believe I let Kimmie's Mom cut my hair!" _It was past one o'clock, and the two of them were standing in the gardens, Shego studying the bricks Ron had loosened for his 'monster trap'.

After everyone had returned to the house, gotten some sleep and a late breakfast, Anne Possible had volunteered to do something about Shego's hair, ravaged when the Rani had unceremoniously chopped her braid off. And after the initial shock wore off, Shego had accepted. Though hardly a masterpiece, the result at least looked good, though Shego vowed to regrow every inch of her sable mane. "_Won't need new bands made until it's longer, of course. Wish we had had time to search for my old ones, if the Rani even kept them, they had sentimental value."_

"Well, it was only a suggestion. We're a bit worried about you using that ship so much, don't want to draw attention to her, do we?" The agent was Mexican born, and had a good deal of charm, which is probably why he made the approach himself. "We can probably arrange some kind of special flight for all of you, if need be."

"What makes you think I'm going with them? Still wanted back in the States, after all. I need to find some place safe for my little girl, if some madman with a bomber wants to kill me." She hoped to savor his reaction to the next bit. "Besides, as far as the ship is concerned, I think she's volunteering to join Team Possible, if you hadn't heard."

Whatever face the agent showed in a poker game needed to better then what he showed now, as his jaw dropped, accompanied by rapid blinking of the eyes, and a decided stutter when he replied, "What! I really don't know if that's possible, I mean, that may need to be approved, S_enorita _Whitlock!"

"Oh! Well, you can take it up with Thundagirl, yourself. But, my guests will all be traveling back to Middleton aboard her, as soon as all preparations are done." Shego looked across the garden area to where Anne Possible was talking on her phone, breaking the news to her husband that he was now a grandfather.

"Tim! I'll explain why your father is in shock, later! When he comes out of it, tell him we will all be arriving at the Upperton General Hospital, the west public entrance, about six o'clock, your time. Now, we're expecting a lot of press there, if Wade does his part well, so you three meet us inside somewhere, I don't want you badgered with questions, nor do I want you to try any of your inventions on members of the press, do I make myself clear?" After a moment to listen to his acknowledgment, she smiled, even if her son couldn't see it, "All right, see you then, Love you, and share that with your brother, Please and Thank You!" She breathed a sigh of relief when she disconnected.

Kim walked carefully out the door, taking a moment to stretch. The fact her movements were pain-free was the greatest relief she could have. Her mother studied her critically, already planning the diet necessary to get her back to her normal weight, and keep her in good shape from the nursing standpoint. She walked over to her daughter, and the two hugged each other. "Are you ready for this, Kim? Even though we won't be talking to those, ahem, 'gentlepersons' of the press today, if we can avoid it, tomorrow we will, and nothing about that will be easy."

"I know, Mom. And it won't be 'we', it will be me doing the talking, no spokeperson, no attorney, not you _or_ dad, just me, understand?" She looked her mother in the eyes, trying to look confident. After a moment, Anne nodded, "Of course, sweetheart." Inwardly, though, she cringed. "_Oh, God, if they want to, they can tear you to pieces, and they haven't shown me any sign recently that they won't. Kimmie, I sometimes wish you weren't such a ...Possible! No mother likes to think they can no longer protect their children, but against all this, I can only pray they repay all you've done for people with some respect!" _

Ron and JJ came down the path from the landing pad. "Everything is loaded, except what we have on our backs, KP!" Ron cheerfully announced, then saddened slightly as he looked about, "You know, it will be great to be home, but I'll miss this place!"

"As far as I am concerned, Ronald, you are free to return anytime you like," Eliana spoke as she came out of the house, "Ana, on the other hand, may feel differently."

"If he wants to visit you, I have no say in it, I said this is your home, and I meant it!" Shego announced as she joined them, having sent the troubled GJ agent on his way. "But I want this considered my 'safe' house, as far as you two are concerned!" She looked at both Kim and Ron, "I swear I will never bring anything here that isn't legally my property, in every sense of the word, Okay?" Both of them nodded. "Hopefully, you are through giving us reasons to chase you." Kim responded.

Shego smirked, "Haven't committed myself to a pursuit of sainthood yet, Kimmie. Having more reasons to behave, doesn't mean I will." The two teens responded by shaking their heads. "Did we really expect any different, KP?" Kim grinned, "No Big, Ron, give me a couple of weeks, and I'll be ready for her."

Shego broke out in a full belly laugh. "Right, Princess, we'll schedule a chase between diaper duty and nursing the kids!" She calmed down. "Right, well, I Guess I won't be 'active' for a while, for obvious reasons. I'm more than flush, so no need to do any of my usual 'work'. So, let's concentrate on raising the kids, and planning our future, and theirs, for say, the next two months, Kimmie?"

"Going to need that time more then you, Shego. I still haven't got a college lined up, I have to deal with all this publicity, I...Oh, there isn't enough time in the world! What am I going to do!?"

"Take it one step at a time..."

"Jinx!"

Anne and Shego stared at Ron, then each other. "Think he has us there, Doc!" Shego remarked.

Anne nodded solemnly, then smiled slightly as she turned to Kim. "Only way you can do it, sweetheart. One step at a time." She looked at her watch. "We have plenty of time to kill before we leave, if we want to make sure Wade has tipped off enough of the press. I also want to give Emily Maisfield plenty of time to set things up at her hospital. Have to say, she is very eager to take a look at Amy. And Doctor Symes will be there to give you a once over, at the very least, Kim."

"I'm staying with Amy for her whole exam, Mom, I have to!"

Anne smiled, "Of course, and then I'll hold onto my granddaughter while you get poked and prodded." Kim slowly smiled back, but there was still a touch of uncertainty in her eyes. Shego shook her head, and went into the house.

JJ followed her in. "Shego, here's one of the devices for interfacing with the boys, since George is staying with you, you might like to have it." Shego accepted the device and studied it curiously. It resembled a handheld game system, or the remote control James Bond had used to control his car in the movies. It had several ports on one side. "It can be hooked into another system, to relay the visual image?" she asked the girl.

JJ nodded, "Yep! Wade has already scanned it, and is trying to figure out how to integrate it with the visor component of his new communications, or maybe that's Kimmunications, system."

"Well, for the moment, the only use I may get from it is as a high-tech baby monitor, but Thanks, anyway." She hesitated for a moment, then continued, "If there is one of those fancy suits for me on the ship, keep it for me, not sure what it represents in my life, so I want to think about accepting it."

"You got it!" at that moment, Inez called from the kitchen, "_Senorita_ Whitlock, lunch is ready!"

Shego rolled her eyes, and grinned. "Wish she wouldn't be so formal, in my own home! Oh, well, better call them all in, last chance for a big meal together, for a while!"

The meal ended up being eaten around the pool. "Now I wish we hadn't packed our swimsuits away, never did get to swim while we were here!" Belle commented.

"Well, we can always send Stoppable and the mole rat away, and do without suits." Shego suggested. Kim blushed slightly, and quickly looked to Ron, who to her astonishment showed no sign of having heard the provocative remark. Her mother had a momentary problem swallowing, and got slightly red in the cheeks, as well.

"Actually, those of us without certain advantages in the healing area are still showing our bruises, so it's probably not such a good idea." was Beth's response.

Shego had also noticed Ron's lack of reaction. "Hmm_, is he learning to tune me out? Can't have that!"_ Her gaze shifted to Kim, who was studying her best friend curiously. Shego slowly shook her head, "_No way this is going to be anything but hard, Kimmie. Glad I'm not in your shoes. Except, actually, I'm not. I wish I could do something to help you, but I can't think of anything, right now, have to look out for my own...yeah, but Amy is mine, too! Gah! Children do complicate your life, don't they?" _She tilted her head back to study the currently clear sky. "_Oh, yes, that storm is about to break, I hope for all our sakes it's a short one."_

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Please Read and Review


	18. Sorting things out

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible, or any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

This is going to be all talk, primarily. I was planning on Kim's homecoming for this chapter, but something popped into my head, and I had to set it up. Also had to deal with idea I was making some things too powerful, and in some cases, too easy.

00000

Doctor Betty Director was far from happy, after a twenty-five minute phone call that basically consisted of a prolonged shouting match, something it was embarrassing to her to have become involved in. As soon as she had finished, she buzzed for Abby, and took a bottled water out of the mini-fridge in her office, to wet down her throat. She hadn't had much sleep since getting Anne Possible's phone call the night before, but that didn't excuse losing her composure as much as she had.

Abby came through the door looking as fresh as she if she'd gotten a good eight hours sleep, which Betty knew damn well she hadn't. Still drinking from her bottle, Betty gestured for Abby to take a seat. After a few moments to get her thoughts in order, she got down to business. "Just had a long talk with the Air Force, regarding the latest attack. They're obviously feeling a lot of heat over this runaway bomber. In fact, I have a suspicion that some people that should have been told about this whole mess have not been, and are close to finding out."

"And what did they want from us? To back off?" Abby asked.

"No, they want us to turn over all the evidence we've gathered to them, but they also want us to continue gathering it _for_ them! Must be tired of shipping Arthur Mandley all over the world." Betty shook her head grimly, "Told them we weren't going to make it easy to keep their secret from the DoD, which was a wild guess on my part, and things got really ugly from there. For the moment, the _status quo_ remains as it was. They can't pressure us without the support of the Secretary of Defense, and they apparently haven't told him how serious things are."

"They're holding out on the Secretary of Defense? Someone's career must really be on the line, to do something _that _foolish!" Abby paused, then mused thoughtfully, "Mandley is too junior, has to be someone higher up. Do we know the name of his immediate superior?"

"No, afraid not. His section is too highly classified to generate any gossip where we might hear it." Tossing her empty bottle in the trash, Betty made a dismissive wave, "Let's forget about that, and get back to what's happening in the Yucatan. What reports do we have so far from down there?"

"They haven't left yet, if that's what you mean. Thundagirl is still on the landing pad, at last report. Ron and our three visitors paid a visit to the village in Shego's jeep, and Kim and Shego were seen talking privately on one of the balconies. As to the collection of evidence, we have two intact devices, pieces of the bomblet dispenser, and some fragments of the large bomb that was dropped. Already verified the two devices were not manufactured at any facility that we were previously aware of."

Betty frowned, "Hope that doesn't mean our mystery bomber has his own bomb making capability. All previous attacks after the initial one used Chinese munitions, correct?" Abby nodded, even though she knew the question was rhetorical, just Betty sorting her thoughts aloud. "And now...what kind of quality are we talking about, Abby?"

"Good, but not great. Design is fairly simple for sophisticated devices, and not a direct copy of an existing design, but still pretty basic. Materials will have to be analyzed in the lab to see what we can get from those. And, if you haven't already caught the word, the main bomb apparently exploded on top of Thundagirl, and did next to no damage, that our people could observe."

"Which suggests that Doctor Laird and his staff underestimated the strength of that ship's armor, doesn't it? I want those girls back here as soon as possible, with that ship! They may attract the wrong attention out there on their own!"

Abby nodded, "We should ask our local man to have a word with them about that. You'd think they'd be more worried about Charley, but...well, they don't have a direct line to us, and they have to see this business finished, that's probably why they haven't come back, yet."

Betty shook her head as she responded, "I think it has more to do with Charley promising to bring Kim home, actually. They feel obligated to keep that promise for her. Once Kim is back in Middleton, I think they'll head back here."

"Upperton, actually." Abby corrected her, "At least, there's a rumor that was passed to one or two reporters that Kim had been rescued from some evil person, and was being flown to Upperton General Hospital this evening."

Betty frowned, "If something like that leaked, it was probably on purpose. Kim, or someone, must be staging something!" Her intercom buzzed, but she continued her current train of thought as she answered it, "Have a couple of agents from the Middleton facility cover whatever is happening. Plain clothes, of course! Yes, Grace?"

"Doctor Keyes wanted you to know, Charley Cob is conscious, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Grace." Betty replied, then rose to her feet, straightened out her uniform, and signaled Abby to accompany her. "Let's go see Charley, I hope she's in shape for some serious talking!" Seeing Abby's worried look, she smiled slightly, "Don't worry, not going to be mean to her! Actually was just planning to chew her out for not taking better care of herself!"

Like many Global Justice facilities, this one was entirely below ground. There was a central shaft at it's core, with the various levels extending from it along one of three axis, with no two consecutive floors directly above each other. There were several means of egress for personnel, but only one large entrance for vehicles, on the uppermost level, where the infirmary was also located. Betty's office was on the third level, the Labs on the fourth. The hanger was separate, connected to the second level by a secured passageway, as well as accessed by an elevator large enough to hold one of the agency's big tilt-engines, or Thundagirl**,** who was almost as big.

As they walked to the elevators, Abby broached the subject of the girls again. "Exactly what are our plans for these four? Are you thinking of recruiting them?"

Betty frowned slightly, while shaking her head, "As long as we're studying their equipment, there's no problem with them staying here, but beyond that? I'm prepared to agree with the consensus of our experts that they can function in our society, and letting them go is not imprudent. The question is, are they a threat to anyone? With their equipment, they can be quite formidable, even if a lot of it was changed, again!" She shook her head slowly as she continued, "But, for the moment, let's try and get them to where they can pass a GED. Only areas they are really deficient in are history and geography, though we may have to make sure they aren't too advanced in other subjects. Then we can properly establish permanent identities for them all. That's about as far as we can go for them, unless they join up, and I doubt they will." By this point the two women had ascended to level one and were approaching the infirmary. Then an obstacle appeared, in the form of Agent Graham Shields, senior representative of Global Justice's Internal Affairs department for this facility.

Fortyish, and undeniably handsome, Shields had crewcut brown hair, an athlete's build, and an air of assurance that Betty had never seen shaken. And she knew why he was here. "Doctor Director? May I have a quick word?" Shields had a New England accent, being from New Hampshire, and a clipped manner of speech, frequently putting some emphasis on the last word or syllable in a sentence.

Betty nodded, "Agent Shields. Do you want to have this conversation here in the hallway, or did you have somewhere more private in mind?" Not that any passing personnel would dare show any interest in their director's business, but they couldn't block their ears, either.

"This will do fine, Ma'am. All I wanted to say is that I am pursuing an inquiry into whether information developed here regarding the whereabouts of Shego was leaked to an outside party. I also wanted to ask whether all protocols are being observed regarding Agent Du's contact with Professor Dementor."

Betty smiled slightly. "Will Du is in charge of the operation, when have you ever known him to fail to follow a protocol?"

Shields gave her a short, brisk, nod. "Yes, well, I had to ask, it's my job."

"Oh course it is, Agent Shields. Now, was there anything further?"

"No, Ma'am, I just wanted to tell you of my investigation, and...well, that was all! If you'll excuse me." He gave her another nod, and went on his way.

Abby followed him with her eyes for a bit, before turning to walk besides Betty into the infirmary. "The voice recognition software?"

Betty scowled and nodded. "As soon as Shego broke into that conversation last night, and had her voice ID'd, the whole thing went to Shields! Still, I approved that measure, can't complain about it now." She came to a halt as she entered the curtained off area where Charley was. The girl was awake, staring at the ceiling. Betty and Abby were on the wrong side of her to be able to see the chest tube in her side, but they could see the chest drain sitting on the floor besides the bed, a container into which the blood evacuated from her chest was being drained.

Her hospital gown was bulked up slightly, Betty assumed by some form of protection for her damaged ribcage. She had an IV hub on the back of her right hand, and the mark of another recently removed from her left. Her expression showed a hint of anxiety, though only enough to be noticeable to a trained observer. It took her nearly a minute to become aware of her visitors, and when she did, little changed on her face, she merely gazed at them expectantly.

"_There's no hope in those eyes," _Betty thought, "_I've seen that so many times before, she's waiting for someone else to decide where her life goes from here, and right now, she doesn't care where that is. She's so different from that girl from the mountain, and the one who set out to save Kim Possible! It's scary to realize just how fast these things can happen, though I honestly can't say how long this has been coming, obviously. She hid the signs well, even from her friends, perhaps even from herself."_

She walked over to the bed, and found herself taking the girl's hand without thinking about it. It hadn't been her intention to show such concern so quickly, but having done it, she just went with it. "Charley, how are you doing?" she didn't block out the concern in her voice, now that she had already made a physical gesture.

The girl looked back at her a moment, then wet her lips and replied in a shaky voice, "What are you going to do with me?"

Though she should have expected the question, it's abruptness was a bit of a jolt to Doctor Director. She hid that, however, and tried to reassure the girl with a smile as she replied, mock-seriously, "You know, I've been wondering that since the day I met you, Miss Cob!"

Oddly, this caused a small flinch from the girl, and she gave no sign of being reassured.

Betty fought to keep the frown off her face. "_Her name upset her? Why?" _Aloud, she decided to cut to the chase, "Charley, tell me what's wrong, please?"

It took a moment, but the response came in a rush. "I'm all made up! I made myself up, I made up my own name, I made my own friends! T--the boys, that is! I tried to make myself real by helping people, saving people, but I'm not real, I...had a Dad, I had a mommy, and I can't go back to them, because I'm not their little girl anymore, I'm someone who killed people, and lied to people, and convinced people to do dangerous things because I thought they needed to earn their freedom, and then left before it was all done, and told myself that it was because I didn't want the credit for it, because it needed to go to real people, not a made-up little girl! And, now I don't know if I did the right thing or not! I don't know what happened to those people, if it turned out all right or not!"

Tears were practically pouring out of the girls eyes, her body wracked with her sobs, and Betty took hold of her shoulders to steady her, while looking her in the eyes, "Charley! You're real, you aren't just the name, you have friends who chose to be yours, and you did do good, the Doctor told me so!"

The last words registered with the girl, causing her to control herself enough to ask, "Really?", in an almost pleading manner.

"Yes, really! All of it, I meant every word I said, now please relax, nothing bad is going to happen to you, at least not here." She kept the smile on her face, but adopted a sterner tone, "I'm not happy you deceived me, trust me on that, but I know why you did it, and this time I'll forgive you."

Charley had to swallow twice before she could get any words out. "Thank You." She was still crying, though, so Betty took a tissue and wiped at her tears, but oddly, that seemed to increase their output. "You shouldn't be so nice to me." she said in a small voice. "Lying to you is the same as lying to your agency, and opposing what they stand for, you shouldn't make an exception for me, really!" The sincerity in her voice jolted Betty. "_Does she really want to be punished? No, she just wants me to do the 'right' thing, maybe because she's afraid I 'll get in trouble if I don't. Or, just because it is the right thing to do in _her_ eyes."_

Taking a moment to look at Abby, who just gazed back, offering no indications of her ideas on the subject, Betty took a deep breath, released it with a sigh, and addressed the girl. "Charley, sometimes in my job I have to decide between doing the right thing, and achieving the 'right' result, the two don't always mean the same thing. I may have fewer of those decisions to make then some other agency heads, but I do have to make them. You made the same kind of decisions, in what you did in the last few days." "_God, has it only been days?"_

"And this is my decision to make, and I am choosing not to punish you. I mean, you don't work for me, and I honestly can't see bringing criminal charges against you!"

Charley was either cried out, or reassured, Betty couldn't tell, but she still looked uncertainly at Betty, trying to read something in her eye. "_She either doesn't fully believe me, or she disagrees, I can't tell!" _

"For right now, I want you to get well, young lady! Then, we're going to help you find a place in this world, as much as we can. Your friends as well, of course. I know you were talking about your 'boys', earlier, when you said you 'made' your own friends, but JJ, Beth, and Belle chose to be your friends of their own free will, I know you believe that!" Charley hesitated slightly before she nodded, "Good! Now, is there anything I can do for you?"

"No, Ma'am, I'm all right." The inaccuracy of that statement almost provoked a sharp response from Betty, but she suppressed it. "_Doing something good for this girl is going to be like pulling teeth, just getting her to tell me what she needs. But, if it's something for someone else, she'll drag herself to me and ask for it, I'll bet."_

"Well, then, I have to get back to my work, Charley." "_Of course, all the questions I was going to ask you when I came down here were my 'work' too, and I didn't ask a single one!" _"I'll be back to see you, when I can." She patted the girl's shoulder, shared a commiserating look with Abby, and left the infirmary.

00000

Shego found Kim back in her old room, standing on the balcony, gazing out into the hills. Coming up behind the girl, she was reminded of the last discussion that had taken place here, and what came after. "_Can't believe how much has changed since then. Goes to show you, if you want a simple life, don't get involved with Time Lords!" _As she stepped out onto the balcony, Kim, already aware of her presence, spoke without turning around, "I really regret not being able to enjoy this home of yours. Despite everything that happened here, I'll miss it."

Shego stepped up beside her, and put one arm around her waist, almost before she realized she was doing it. Surprisingly, Kim didn't tense up at the contact. "You're welcome to return, Eliana for one would probably like to see here you as a friend, rather then a patient. She only saw you at your best that first day, before you began your treatment." Shego assured her.

Kim snorted. "I may have been physically at my 'best', but otherwise, I wasn't fun to be around, was I? All mopey, and suspicious, I don't even remember if I smiled when you introduced us, whether I was even polite."

"You were, Princess, but she would have understood if you hadn't been. Now, let me tell you about a visitor I had last night, before everything got exciting." Shego proceeded to describe her conversation of the previous night. When she was finished, she asked a frowning Kim, "What still bothers you about this story?"

Kim thought about that for a moment, then replied, "Two things. One, why didn't the Wegos and Mego get more elaborate powers, if the sets were more sophisticated, based on intelligence? They're pretty smart guys, after all."

"Well, smart, yes." Shego agreed, "But maybe maturity had something to do with it? Remember, the program was supposed to deal with adults, not sure how it judged a pair of seven year olds. Hyperactive, short attention spans, all in all it probably judged them too immature for any fancier powers. But Warren? He was only a year younger then me, and very smart, that one _is_ a mystery. What was the other thing?"

"Well, this may be the big one, actually, are those aliens done with you? Do you think they might be planning to try to make another group, since apparently Team Go isn't what they wanted?"

Shego's eyebrows rose. "'Apparently', Kimmie? Try 'certainly'. The boys have only gained the gratitude of Go City, such as it is. Of course, that's more the city government's fault then anything else, keeping their activities restricted within the city limits. Anyway, no chance our hero-makers are happy with that sitch." When Kim grinned, Shego gave her one back, "What? You patent that word, or something?" Then she grew serious again. "Don't think it will affect the boys, though, they'll probably pick a different city, and a new theme for their new heroes."

"Why not just one hero? Oh, wait, that's been done." Kim was frowning now. "But, we know, or believe, that they create villains for their new heroes to fight, if none are available. And, we know the mentor has to be capable of some pretty dirty tricks, to keep the group working to plan. So, we might throw a wrench into their plans, right?"

Shego grimaced. "Figured you would be thinking about that, Princess." She sighed, "I don't know what to do about it, if we even figure it out when they do it! I mean, you can't right every wrong, you know!" She felt the girl sag slightly. "It may have seemed that way, once, but you really can't do it!"

Kim brought her hands almost together on the rail, and leaned so far forward she could rest her forehead between them. Shego kept one hand on the girl's back, feeling the tension in her muscles, but resisting the temptation to rub them, to relax them. "I know." Kim said in a barely audible voice. "I'm just one girl, and I have other responsibilities, but I can't stop wanting to help people!"

"I hope you never stop, Kim, but I hope you put everything in perspective, and remember to live your own life, while helping others with theirs." Shego suddenly laughed aloud, causing Kim to straighten up and stare at her. "Don't ever tell Hego you heard me giving that advice, whatever you do! He'll never stop bugging me to rejoin, thinking I've 'reformed' and rejoined the side of 'good'. Not that I haven't, mind you, just not going to do things his way."

"Well, you did say he has been doing better at it." Kim observed.

"Yeah, but I suspect he may just be listening to Warren's advice, now. When you could get him to focus outside himself, Mego was pretty good at handling situations. So, he might be supplying more of the Team's brainpower these days."

Kim nodded, "Something you could do, even better then Mego, I would think." She almost choked trying not to laugh at the horrified expression on Shego's face. "Come on, being in charge wouldn't be that bad, would it?"

Shego put the back of her hand to Kim's forehead. "You got a fever there, Kimmie? Sure sounds like it to me."

Kim batted the hand away, "I know, Shego the loner, an island unto herself, at least until a few days ago." The girl's bitter tone surprised Shego more from it's abrupt appearance, then anything else.

"Kimmie, we're talking about my brothers, or at least I am, aren't you?"

Kim scowled, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from. I guess I just need to know where you stand, for some reason. With everything else changing, I need something solid, outside of my family life, something I can rely on. So many things I was sure of, a year ago, but not anymore. Global Justice, the way the public felt about me, how my life was going to go. I didn't take any chances that I thought might mess my 'perfect' plan up. No sex, no unexpected pregnancies." She rolled her eyes, "And look what happens! All those promotional events I avoided, so as not to cut more into my schoolwork, Did you know, I've had offers from big agencies, entertainment, modeling, and the like, ever since I was sixteen?"

Shego nodded. "Not surprising, I had a few of those, myself. My 'guardians' dealt with them, though. Couple of them managed to do an end run and contact me directly, but I wasn't buying what they were selling, I suspected they were lying though their teeth about so many things."

"Same here, most of them hit the brick wall named Doctor James Possible, but a few slipped around and tried to fill my head with all sorts of fantasies. Believe it or not, Ron kept me grounded, reminding me of my own plans, and convincing me to stay with what I was sure of. Which is ironic, now, since so much is now so uncertain. Still, it was good advice."

Shego snorted. "Well, doesn't really surprise me that Stoppable has common sense, but like his intelligence, he doesn't always bring it to bear when he needs it most."

"He's getting better at it, though! He's been thinking things through more often, but he'll never be perfect, and I'm not sure I'd want him to be." Kim returned to leaning on the railing, while Shego put her back against it next to the girl.

After a moment's silence, Shego spoke. "Going to make all the legal arrangements necessary, if anything happens to me, You'll get custody of Milly. Just in case going before the whole world and proclaiming that we're the parents of those two is not enough."

Kim frowned, "You think that's a bad idea, don't you?"

Shego shook her head, "Kimmie, I can't think of a 'good' idea on how to handle this sitch." She snorted in amusement, "Unless you want to move down here, and we raise them where the local officials aren't likely to bother us."

The bemused look on Kim's face was priceless. "Um, us living here, with the babies? How would that work? Are...are you serious?"

Shego was a little shaken, she'd expected Kim to laugh it off, but she recovered, sort of. "As a last resort, maybe." "_Huh? That should have come out, "Nah, are you kidding?" _"If it was the only way to keep our kids, or if the pressure in the outside world against you or us became too much. I don't want them raised under more stress then they're already going to get, just because of how they came into the world."

Kim's face had gone into neutral, but she nodded thoughtfully. "I don't want to run away from the world, I don't want them to force me to live for their approval, but you're right, any 'fight' would affect the girls, even if only because I couldn't hide my own stress from them."

"Approval is something you used to be all about, Kimmie. It's one of the reasons you became such an overachiever, but not the only reason. You helped people because you have a big heart, not just to gain approval, I hope you don't think I meant..." Her attention suddenly was diverted to something by the pool, below. "Looks like Stoppable's little buddy is in a tizzy."

Kim looked down to see Rufus waving up at her from besides the door, and pointing inside, while remaining out of sight of anyone within. "I think we have company."

Shego got downstairs much faster then Kim, naturally. She stopped at the foot of the steps to take a good look at their two visitors, who were talking to Eliana, with Anne Possible next to her. Neither Ron nor the Reeder twins were present. "_Military, for sure." _JJ Ko was standing next to her. "It's the same officer who was in command at the mountain back in Colorado." she whispered.

"Oh, really?" Shego muttered, and was about to step forward herself when she heard a sharp gasp from the steps. She looked up quickly to see Kim catching her balance with both hands on the railing. "You okay, Princess?" Shego asked, as she moved two steps back up the stairs.

Kim nodded grimly, "Just tried to go too fast is all, I'm fine." Shego nodded, but stayed at the foot of the stairs until Kim was all the way down. Once on level ground, she was far more stable, and they both moved to join the conversation.

"And _I_ would like to know why an aircraft I believed was in the custody of Global Justice is sitting on that helipad out there!" Arthur Mandley was speaking in a heated tone to Eliana Chosa. His companion, a tall, muscular man with close cropped brown hair and a gaze that never ceased sweeping the room, grimaced slightly at his superior's diminishing self-control.

"I believe that is one of the four girls who came with it, who I also thought was in custody, where are the other three, may I ask?" Mandley continued, pointing at JJ. Then his eyes fell on Kim, and he frowned as he recognized her. But before he could speak, Eliana spoke first.

"I am always interested in helping the authorities, but only when I know the truth about their identities, and I do not believe you are from the United States Department of State, Mister Mandley! So, unless you wish to introduce yourself properly, I will _insist_ you leave, or I will summon one of those Global Justice agents who are out there searching for evidence about whoever attacked my home last night!"

Mandley refused to give up the initiative, and attacked on a new front. "And what is Kim Possible doing here? I heard she had disappeared, but here she is, looking as if she has an eating disorder rather then being the victim of any of those sinister plots all the news services are spewing out."

Shego spoke up, more than a little heat in her voice. "One, she was abducted by a new villain, who subjected her to torture, among other things. Two, she was rescued by the four girls you mentioned, and brought here to try and recover before going home. Three, one of those four girls is in a Global Justice hospital because of injuries she suffered, the other two are around here someplace. Four, you're a Colonel in the United States Air Force, and this is the second time you have shown up after I've been bombed! And Five, unless you become more civil, you will be evicted from these premises, am I perfectly clear?"

Mandley tried to process all the information in that speech, but failed to check his mouth while doing it. "And just who is this 'new villain', eh? And why are these girls, and that _ship, _running around loose!?"

Shego smirked and leaned closer to him, then replied, "Ask UNIT." Mandley's eyes closed as he took a step back. As he did, the patio door opened, and Ron, the Reeder twins, and the senior GJ Agent all entered, with the first and last named moving to join the conversation.

The agent spoke to Mandley. "Roberto Flores, Global Justice, may I ask who you are, and why you're here?" In fact, Flores knew exactly who Mandley was, having been warned he might appear.

Mandley spent several moments with his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to get his thoughts under control. "_Shouldn't have let the shock of seeing that ship again make me testy, I generated all this hostility myself. And I should have known people who would know me might be in the house, using my cover ID was stupid!" _He opened his eyes, dropping his hand to his side. "I'm Colonel Arthur Mandley, United States Air Force. We have an interest in what happened here, last night." He looked at the agent, "And I believe you're standing next to a wanted fugitive, Agent Flores?"

"I am aware of that, Colonel. However, Shego is not wanted in this country, and is currently being considered for a limited pardon in other places, due to her cooperation with UNIT in the recent events in Thailand." Shego managed to keep a straight face at that announcement.

Mandley's eyebrows elevated, "Thailand? And I suppose you can't tell me anything about these 'events', either?"

Flores shook his head, "I have no information regarding the nature of the events, just what I just told you, direct from Doctor Director herself. Now, if you wish to view the evidence we have collected, I suggest we leave these people alone, and let me show you what you came here for."

Mandley thought that over, but shook his head, "No, there are certain matters that need to be addressed, matters that could involve National Security." He ignored one or two groans at what had become almost a cliché to some. "These girls own a ship capable of covertly inserting itself anywhere in the world. And these little 'skulls' of theirs...I don't remember a gold one? Anyway, they teleported people out of a mountain lair, they could be used for all sorts of nefarious purposes, planting bombs, inserting assassins, abductions...speaking of mountain lairs, if we could find the right mountain, there's a particular target they could..."

"All those matters have been dealt with!" Came a familiar voice. All eyes turned to the door into the den. Shego winced, and several jaws dropped at the sight of a slightly altered version of Steven Barkin standing there. White hair and beard, as well as a gray pin-stripe suit were the only changes from the original, plus a slightly lower volume when speaking.

Shego leaned close to Kim and whispered, "Why does this remind me of a Marx Brothers' movie?"

"I'm sure I don't know how the elephant got in your pajamas, either, Captain Spaulding." the redhead whispered back. The two exchanged quick grins, as Mandley and a curious Flores turned their attention to the newcomer.

Scowling, Mandley addressed him, "And just who might you be, and how have these matters been 'dealt with'?"

"That is quite literally none of your affair, Colonel Mandley, nor is it of interest to Global Justice, except as far as it pertains to their charges, the four young women. First, to correct you, Colonel, these girls do not 'own' Thundagirl, she is a sentient entity possessing free will. And with her agreement, a system was installed in her, outside of her own control, which will notify the defense forces of any sovereign nation of her presence in their country, no matter what method she uses to enter by. They will be able to track her movements at all times, unless they initiate hostile action against her or her crew. That negates her 'covert' abilities to a great extent."

"And how does this system work, exactly?" the skeptical Colonel asked.

"Even though we are quite sure it cannot be overridden or circumvented, I see no reason to give you hope in that area by giving you more specific information. The system works within the United States as well, so you can test it as you choose. That leads to one exception, the system will shutdown when she is within a certain radius of a covert base where she might operate from, within the United States. For the moment, that is any Global Justice base, though that can be changed if she comes under the jurisdiction of another agency."

"As to the weapons, your information is out of date already. In fact, at this moment, all firearms have been removed from their ship and their possession pending the acquisition of the necessary licenses and permits for them. The weapons will be configured to fit within the restrictions of whatever permits are obtained."

"Well, since you bring up permits, I do not believe that Artificial Intelligences are recognized as being pilots, so technically that ship can't legally fly!" Mandley pointed out.

"True, unless there is a licensed pilot aboard." Mandley frowned, but didn't argue the point. "Now, last but certainly not least, the ability of the skulls to teleport people and objects has been drastically curtailed."

"WHAT!" Belle cried, "We would have all died last night, if they hadn't had that ability! The house would have been destroyed, everything would have been destroyed! And what about all the other times we saved people, and ourselves, that way?"

The stranger's reply came in a lecturing tone. "Actually, though your plan of action last night was effective, you could have managed to survive without the teleport function. In the time you had, the skulls could have neutralized the timers on all of the incendiaries, after which they could have neutralized the explosive bomblets as well, clearing a path for you to escape by. Not to criticize the plan you undertook, it was fine, just not your only option. Let me make this clear, this is not to punish you, this is to prevent certain complications in your lives. If you are not cognizant of the complications I refer to, I believe Miss Whitlock can educate you, as can a number of people at Global Justice."

"We still don't know why we had so much time to escape last night." Kim commented.

"Actually, we do, Miss Possible." Agent Flores spoke up, "These bomblets that you secured intact for us are well made, but rather simplistic examples of their kind. The incendiary ones were armed and detonated by a computer chip, which we believe was programmed incorrectly, with minutes instead of seconds. This wasn't the only basic error we observed, though none rendered the devices any less deadly."

"Our mystery bomber can't get good help?" a scowling Shego asked.

"Inexperienced might be the best description, at least as far as ordinance fabrication."

"I think it's time we had a look at these bombs, ourselves." Mandley stated, his curiosity piqued enough to drop his current inquiries. He turned to his subordinate, "Sergeant, let's leave these people alone. Agent Flores, can you show us what you've got?" Flores nodded, and led the two Air Force men out the patio door, though all three kept an eye on 'Barkin Senior' as they exited.

All eyes in the room now turned to the stranger, and several people started talking at once, causing him to raise his hands. "People, People! Some decorum, please! I will give you some quick answers to your questions, then I have to have a private talk with Miss Whitlock. Once that is done, there will hopefully be no further direct contact between my race, and yours."

"Well, since this does not involve me, I believe I will assist Inez with dinner." Eliana Chosa announced, and went into the kitchen.

Kim looked at her mother, to see if she would follow suit, but the elder Possible was obviously intrigued by what was going on. "Fascinated by your first Alien, Mom?" she quietly asked.

Anne Possible grinned, "Not sure if he is, there was this teacher I had in Pre-Med, who I was quite convinced wasn't human."

"If everyone will make themselves comfortable, I'll begin." Rufus emerged from the hallway to the utility room, having apparently slipped in through that door. He took a seat between Ron and Kim on one couch, as the Reeder sisters flanked JJ on the other. Anne Possible occupied one recliner, but Shego remained standing.

"Very Well. I wish to begin by telling you that the representative of my race who previously was responsible for our relations with you all has been relieved of her duties, because of her outright intervention in Miss Whitlock's life, and her immature behavior since then. Which is not a great surprise, since by our standards, she is still a child."

Shego scowled, but the lecture continued before she could speak. "Now, we cannot let you keep any of our technology. To do so would require us to monitor you twenty-four seven, something you might not be comfortable with. The exceptions are the skulls, which are basically children's level creations to us."

"Now, some of the items given to you were not our technology, but that of other races that we are allowed the use of. The Variable Bore firearms, for instance. Those are currently in the safekeeping of Miss Paladin and Miss McCarron, until you decide whether or not you wish to have them, and obtain the documents necessary to own them legally. They have been altered, again, to conform to the law, and to remove our technology from them. You can learn more about that, later, at your leisure."

"Technically, the skulls haven't been altered, as yet, but they will be, as soon as we decide on something to compensate for what they lose. They will still have the capability of removing foreign objects from human bodies, and repairing vascular tissue, and will lose none of their scanning capabilities, or their stealth. What we need to decide is what we can give them to assist you in saving lives. Besides more enhanced healing abilities, which we cannot increase, sorry."

There followed a few minutes of silence as his words were considered, before Kim began to speak, slowly at first, but with more certainty as she went along, "If we can't teleport people, especially injured people, to safety, we should think of other means to make it easier, and safer. The problem with moving some injured people is, in fact, moving them at all. They need to be stabilized, to prevent injuring them further. And with some of us, making them lighter would be a great benefit. Is there any way to do those things?"

'Barkin Senior' nodded slowly. "They already possess full anti-gravity, it's how they fly. And, they possess what you would call 'tractor beam' capability, as well. So, by extending these powers, those aims can be achieved. The tractor field could hold the patient absolutely rigid, provided they themselves do not struggle, and could reduce their felt weight by, let me see, seventy-five percent? Yes, that is doable, Miss Possible! Does anyone have any objections? No? Very well, that's what we'll do."

"As to the rest of your equipment, we have been in contact with Mister Load." That startled almost everyone in the room. "And have reached an agreement with him, to insure that everything you have can be manufactured, repaired, and or replenished here on Earth. The firearms are one exception, Thundagirl is another. If they are damaged, you will have to wait until our periodic check on your status, which will occur roughly every forty days, before repairs or replacement can occur."

"One advantage to this is that Mister Load can patent all devices and processes involved, making it possible for interested parties to obtain licenses to manufacture these items themselves, rather then harass you regarding them. In addition, Mister Load has agreed to share the proceeds from any licensing fees, etcetera, with the four young women from the future, as well as Ronald Stoppable, and Kimberley Possible."

Kim frowned, and started to protest, when her mother cleared her throat. When Kim looked at her, she gestured in the general direction of Kim's room, where Amy and Milly were so far napping through all the commotion. "_Right, I have my own dependent to worry about now, I can't expect Mom and Dad to help with everything."_ Still unhappy, she none the less subsided.

Their visitor continued, "Now, Much of what you need to know can come later, for now, I must have that private talk with Miss Whitlock, so if you'll excuse us?"

00000

Doctor Director answered her internal phone line. It was Keyes, highly agitated "Doctor Director, you need to get down to the infirmary, we have an intruder!"

When Betty arrived minutes later, agents were milling around in confusion. "Report!" She snapped at one.

"Ma'am! Uh, an interuder was spotted by Doctor Keyes, but apparently vanished when the doctor looked away. Description was someone probably wearing some sort of silvery-gray bodysuit. And now we can't find any sign of it! It was standing by Miss Cob's bedside when first sighted, and Doctor Keyes says..."

"I'll finish the report, Reese!" Keyes told the agent sharply as he came up. Looking at Betty he scowled. "Her chest tube was removed, but preliminary indications show that some of the damage, _too much_ of the damage, has healed." Then he winced slightly and qualified, "Too much for the healing to have been wholy natural, that is!"

Betty, a fierce scowl on her face, turned away and went towards Charley's bed. A nurse had just finished taking the girl's blood pressure. CHarley herself was wide awake, but apparently lost in thought. "Charley?" Betty addressed the girl. CHarley blinked, then apparently became aware of Doctor Director, and tried to sit up a bit in bed. "Do you have any idea who our intruder was?" Betty asked her.

The girl nodded tiredly, "It was one of the Ar'Ithane, I think. Not sure what was going on, except...after it left, I think i suddenly realized why everything came unraveled for me."

Betty pulled a chair over to sit besides the bed. "Charley, look at me." The girl did, and Betty saw more then physical pain reflected in her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

The girl swallowed, "I need some water, please?" Abby appeared at Betty's side, and handed a filled glass to the girl. She smiled at Charley, "Figured you might need this, young lady." That drew a faint smile from the girl. After she had drained half the glass, she gingerly handed it back. She took as deep a breath as she could, until she winced, and then began speaking. "We told you about the prison camp? And our escape, how they forced me to use the boys, though I didn't want to? And what happened afterwards?"

"That wasn't your fault, Charley, the others told us how you were forced to help. They hurt you, and then your friends, to make you agree." Betty remarked.

"I used to agree with you, Ma'am. The girls thought I was blaming myself, but I didn't, until recently. I actually blamed them, or rather blamed myself for caring enough about them to give in! Not that much, but I did actually blame them! But I blamed the others more, the ones who forced me, the ones who stood back and didn't get involved, I blamed all of them, not myself."

"But now you do?"

"When I saw those penetrators falling on Doctor Drakken's lair, it took me back to that night. I 'zoned out' for a moment, before Wade's voice brought me back. I went back to my normal behavior, but from that moment on, I felt something behind me, something coming after me, and I knew it would catch me, and I should have stopped and faced it, but there was so much to do, to get us situated, to help Kim Possible, there was no time to deal with it."

Betty nodded her understanding. "As I understand it, one woman kept JJ in a headlock, threatening to break her neck. And they forced you to teleport Belle and Beth out, so they could have them as hostages if you tried something, what else could you have done?"

"Is that rhetorical? You know how much I can do with my boys. I could have sent them each to separate barracks, or different places anywhere, I could have teleported JJ right out of that headlock, and me with her, wherever I sent Saul and Roy. Those other girls wouldn't know where they were going until they were there, and they had no way to tell the others with me that I had betrayed them. But I didn't, I acted like a petulant little girl. 'Go ahead, have it your way!'. I didn't use my brains, I just got angry, and took the path of least resistance, letting them have their way." She paused, then continued reflectively, "Or maybe...I honestly don't remember consciously thinking this, but maybe I didn't do any of those clever things because it would have led to our captors learning about me and the boys, maybe I gave in to protect myself. Someone would have talked, when they found all those prisoners in the wrong place."

Betty nodded, then asked, "Charley, how many of those women ganged up on you to force the escape attempt?"

The girl frowned, "Ten, versus four of us, with thirty-two unwilling to take sides, why?"

"And those ten were the first out, along with Belle and Beth?" Charley nodded, "Then why did you continue to send the other girls out? In fact, why not bring the Reeder sisters back in?"

"Because...because I _knew_ something bad had already started, that I had to get them out, or they'd die! I don't know how I knew, but I did!" Charley was almost desperately emphatic.

"Why not send JJ sooner?" Abby asked.

"She wouldn't go ahead of me, she told Fred and Ben that, and they...agreed. They took her side!" Her gaze dropped to her hands, folded in her lap. "But they did send us when Saul and Roy saw the bombs. I can't forget the faces of the two girls who were supposed to go."

"So, you saved twenty-four total out of 500 or so? How do you know that teleporting the women to another barracks would have worked? Maybe the ship captain who bombed you did it because the thermal signature of your own barracks dropped, indicating people were getting out, somehow." Betty suggested. "Maybe 'beamed up' to another ship, or was that possible?"

"Yes, there were some devices capable of that available, if there wasn't some kind of 'scrambler' to prevent it. Otherwise, the cooling may have been due to a mass suicide, with the whole place cooling off as all our bodies did. I mean, he bombed us because he wanted that duty over, that was his main concern, and he thought, as long as he prevented the 'escape' of those special prisoners, he'd get a free pass."

"Did the women who started it escape, once they were out?"

"No, they waited, to try and get extra blankets for themselves. We had one each, and they ganged up on each girl coming through and took theirs. But they waited too long. After the bombing, there was a fight, and they lost. One of them was knocked unconscious, and we left her there. Her 'friends' left her, too. And the guards killed her where she lay, they weren't taking any prisoners anymore. I honestly don't know how many of the twenty-four survived, besides the four of us. So, I was responsible, I had so many options, but I didn't bother with them. I behaved in a childish fashion, and all those people died."

Betty studied the girl silently for a moment. "Charley, tell me something. Were you scared?" Charley started, and looked wary, suddenly. "Were you scared for your friends, were you scared for yourself? They were hurting you, they were hurting your friends, threatening to kill them, are you sure you weren't just too scared to think?"

Charley couldn't stop the memory coming back. _On her back, on the bunk, head hanging over one side. The heavy girl lying on top of her, pinning her, forcing her head back so she could watch upside down as the other woman began to bend Belle's fingers back, to break them. "This is just a start, you idiot! Keep being stubborn, and we'll break your friends into pieces!" She was in pain, they had beat her, pinched, twisted, everything they could think of without seriously hurting her. Amateurs, scared girls, she knew they'd do what they threatened, and she was so...afraid, all alone again, having to decide this all alone, it wasn't fair!" _Charley convulsively hugged herself. "I shouldn't have been! I had just been in a war, for pity's sake! I'd killed people, I'd seen so many killed, I tried to save as many as I could! How could I let fear do that to me, after all that!"

Betty sighed inwardly, then spoke in a reasoning tone, "Charley, people panic, they get scared, and they do things out of fear contrary to their own beliefs and desires. They forget all their logical reasons not to do things, and let the emotion carry them away. And that is what happened to you in that barracks. You were being terrorized, and forced to make a decision, no one can fairly blame you for not thinking clearly. Except yourself. No person is by nature completely fearless, which is a good thing. I'll bet, after the camp, you did your best not to admit to fear, Charley. You shoved it aside, buried it, whatever, because you were ashamed that you gave into it, and all those people died because of it, in your mind." Betty paused to let her words sink in, before continuing. "Well, let me say this, First, I don't think anyone can say they would have done it differently, if they had been there in your place. Second, you didn't kill them, the captain of that ship did, by not taking whatever other options he must have had available. He committed mass murder for his own convenience, and there is no way you could have predicted such an act in advance, Charley, unless you had been aware of written orders telling him to do such a thing, or you personally knew him well enough to know he'd react in such a manner. In short, you didn't know you were risking all those lives, but you did know what was happening before your eyes, threats to you, and your friends. And now, all the fear you shoved aside is manifesting itself. All the fear that could have stopped you from doing the things you did, is now making you afraid of what might have been, and that's pretty nuts, if you ask me." Charley blinked in surprise at that. Then she abruptly yawned, and blushed in embarrassment at her rudeness.

Betty just smiled. "You need sleep, Charley. This has been a rough day for you. Maybe 'nuts' isn't the word I should have used. But you are obsessing on things in your past you can't change, appalled at your own hubris, if I understand correctly. You helped a lot of people, and now you are upset because you think maybe you didn't consider all the risk in advance, that you went forward without sufficient fear of the consequences. But, it all came out all right, and unless you believe there has to be some great balance struck, and some catastrophe has to now occur in your life to even things out, you should let it rest. Now, let the doctors finish looking at you, and then get your sleep, young lady!"

As Betty and Abby exited the infirmary, Abby couldn't help a gibe at the expense of her boss. "Ah, I see you are still honing your parenting skills, for the day..."

"Can it, Miss Hogan, or I may just check the orderliness of your workspace. Or move Will Du in with you!"

Abby feigned horror, "See here, I said nothing to deserve that! You sound tired, must have been a rough day for you, too?"

"Not yet." Betty stopped and looked at Abby in puzzlement, "Now, Why did I say that?"

00000

Somewhere in England, an interview was taking place. Or interrogation, if you will, though it was being conducted in a quite civil manner. Though the subject was showing some testiness.

"Please!" The Rani spoke in an exasperated tone, "I can name six doctors or researchers on this planet that could at least explain in theory how I created two babies from the DNA of two women, without any male participation at all! Two or three of them might actually be able to do it, themselves! Can we please change the subject?"

Her interviewer, a professor at one of the country's leading medical colleges, pursed his lips and frowned. After a moment, he nodded. "Very well, about this insect venom Miss Possible was exposed to, that you say she has subsequently cured? Why did you tell her how to cure it, for that matter?"

The Time Lord frowned, "Cured? Not exactly. As to the why, she saved my life, I do have a sense of honor, you know!"

"What do you mean, not cured?"

"Well, the drug she would use would suppress it, certainly. And, it would be out of her system in five to seven days, completely! It's still there at the moment, But in the condition I last saw her in, I very much doubt she will indulge in the kind of activity that would reactivate the venom before then."

* * *

Anyway, Please Read and Review.


	19. Crisis looming

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

00000

"Doctor Director! To what do I owe this pleasure?" Doctor Drakken looked up in genuine surprise from the book he was reading, Jules Verne's **Mysterious Island**. He was seated in one of the two chairs in his cell, which, along with a small writing desk and the bed, were the only furnishings.

"I'm here to satisfy my curiosity on several points, Drew." Drakken nodded slightly, acknowledging her use of his name as a sign this was an informal inquiry. "To start with, do you have any idea why no one has requested an opportunity to interview, or press charges, against you?"

Drakken marked his place, closed the book and set it aside while he considered his answer. "Well, first, is Shego still at large?"

Betty thought a moment, deciding what to reveal. "She's at her home in the Yucatan, at the moment."

Drakken's eyes widened slightly. "I see. Well, one reason might be that they don't want the embarrassment when Shego helps me escape from whomever has me."

"Which she is under contract to do?" Drakken nodded. "Are there any conditions under which she can choose not to honor her contract?"

Now Doctor Drakken frowned, "Is she all right? Only certain health conditions would release her from her obligations. Or, my violating the contract first, which I haven't been foolish enough to do, at least not lately."

"What about maternity?"

Drakken couldn't prevent a look of mild shock flashing on to his face, and he stammered slightly as he replied, "Maternity? Shego? That's highly unlikely, considering her life choices. I mean, we did discuss how she might, if she truly wanted to, conceive a child, but that would take planning, and she would have told me before going through with such a procedure."

"What if the pregnancy was not her choice?" Betty almost regretted the question solely because the look that came to Drakken's face sent a jolt of fear up her spine. "_Can't take the man lightly when you have seen that expression!"_

The next words from Drakken's mouth came in a tone that almost made Betty reach for the alarm button on her wrist unit. "She...was...raped!?"

"Calm down, Doctor! Not exactly, I may have been too blunt in my choice of words, this whole matter is very complicated. To put it mildly!" She composed herself inside enough to match the outer calm she projected. "Do you remember the Doctor?"

Drakken's anger shifted to puzzlement. "Of course! What does he have to do with this?"

"He doesn't, but another Time Lord, a female one, known as the Rani, had everything to do with what happened. She's a geneticist, and came to earth for some purpose we are not entirely sure of. She involved herself with DNAmy, and kidnapped Kim Possible." Drakken's interest was now thoroughly piqued. "Shego, for whatever reason, was investigating some rumor or other regarding Kim's disappearance, when she crossed paths with the Rani herself, and was also captured." Betty was telling this version to Drakken as if it was the one she personally believed. If Shego told him the truth, later, he could assume that Doctor Director didn't know the whole truth.

"Anyway, the Rani experimented on both of her captives, Kim far more then Shego, and she suffered for it." Drakken's scowl deepened again. "Her primary experiment, however, was an attempt to create two children who would inherit both women's physical skills genetically."

That caused the anger to vanish from Drakken's face as he considered the implications, nodding to himself. But he soon began scowling again.

"So, you're saying, Shego has been artificially inseminated? Since you have already said she is free, then she can take steps...No, she wouldn't abort the child, if the father is human, if there is no chance of...who was the father, medically speaking?"

"I didn't make myself clear, Doctor. Two babies, one for each of her captives, but inheriting their _combined_ skills!" Drakken blinked, then went into a near trance for nearly a minute, then he began to mutter. "Combining the DNA of two women...Shego and Kim Possible? If the children are viable..."

"They are, Doctor, completely viable, according to preliminary examination."

"WHAT! Already born?! But how...ah! A Time Lord, of course she would have ways! Both female, I would guess?" Betty nodded, "And Shego? How is she treating this?"

"She's not blaming the baby, if that's what you mean. She seems to have made an astonishingly fast adjustment to being a mother. Kim as well, though she has physical problems, a result of her ordeal. She was nearly killed by the pregnancy, from what I'm told."

Drakken's scowl returned full force. "Someday I would like to have an opportunity to speak with this 'Rani'! There are certain things one shouldn't do! That may seem strange coming from me, Doctor Director, but I have come to set certain limits on my actions, since my early days." Betty acknowledged his statement with a slight nod. "But, I'm glad Shego isn't taking things out on the child. Not surprised that she isn't, though I would have expected a longer adjustment period." He paused then returned to her earlier question. "As to her contract, yes, maternity terminates that agreement entirely. You may have noticed that for some time I have only hired henchmen with no close family. As useful as Shego is to me, if not essential, I won't put the mother of a small child at risk in my service. As to Kim Possible, I hope this causes her to change her life, I would really regret her death, believe it or not, and if she were to leave behind a child! But, I fear she won't, the evil out there is growing more powerful, and she will feel compelled to oppose it, I am sure."

Betty found herself nodding in agreement. "As to that, Doctor Drakken, whoever bombed your lair has continued to make attacks. On Monkeyfist, who we believe escaped unharmed, WWEE, and last night, another attack on Shego. She's all right, don't worry, again due to the same visitors who rescued you from your lair. They are also responsible for the Rani's defeat, along with some colleagues of ours."

"I thought they were here, in this facility?"

"I gave them permission to try and find Kim Possible. They somewhat exceeded my expectations, I must admit, but they also did a few things I didn't exactly give permission for." Betty hesitated, "Their leader, Charley?" Drakken nodded, "She's upstairs in the infirmary, she suffered some severe injuries in the rescue attempt."

Drakken's face showed genuine concern. "I wonder, since I never had the chance before, if I might visit her and thank her for what she did?"

Betty frowned slightly, "Let me think about that. I got sidetracked, there, what I meant was to ask if you have any ideas about who our mystery bomber might be?"

Drakken shook his head, "Someone taking very 'decisive' action against supervillains? No one stands out, but I have to say, it is far more likely someone from your side, going a little too far, then another villain trying to eliminate the competition. Has your brother showed any signs of lashing out in retaliation?"

"No!" Betty's response was curt. Then she grimaced, "Sorry, Doctor, but you know that subject is a touchy one for me. As to your visiting Charley, under guard? I think I'll approve it. Now, if you'll excuse me?"

Drakken stood as she turned to leave. "Oh, one thing, if you please, Doctor Director?" When she turned, he asked, "Did Shego name the baby?"

Betty actually smiled. "Yes, she named her Millicent. Kim named her little girl Amy, by the way." Seeing Drakken's puzzled look, she stopped smiling, "DNAmy was killed while trying to protect the babies from some creatures the Rani unleashed, trying to cover her escape. So, Kim named her baby for her."

Drakken nodded. Absently, he asked, "I'd like a picture of her...of both babies, if it can be arranged? With their mothers, of course." He sat back down, lost in his thoughts. Betty turned and left after a moment studying him.

Almost as soon as she had exited the cell, her wrist comm went off. "Doctor Director, come to Operations immediately, please! We have a terrorist attack in progress!"

"Where!"

"SmartyWorld, Ma'am!"

00000

Dinner was being eaten at Shego's house. The diners were divided between two rooms, and two conversation groups. The three adults, with Kim, were in the dining area, while Ron and the other three girls sat in the living room on the floor around the table between the sofas. Most everyone cast occasional glances at the clock, knowing they would be leaving soon, to arrive in Upperton within the time frame set by Wade.

"I don't know why you're so upset, JJ, it's not about the guns, is it? It's not like we really need them, or for that matter, want them!" Belle was speaking. "Just because we know too well how to use them."

JJ made a face, "No, it's not the guns, we did a lot of good things without them! It's the boys, not having them to bail us out! I mean, how many times did they get us in or out of places when we really needed them to? Why can't they program them to just teleport us?"

"Then someone would find a way to make us do their dirty work for them!" Beth replied.

JJ wanted to argue, but she wasn't naive, she _did_ understand, but accepting it was a problem. "Okay, let's get off this topic, until we find out what they're going to give us. Let's discuss our itinerary for the next couple of days."

"First, Upperton, to drop Kim, her Mom, and Amy off. Then, Japan, to return whatever it was that Ron 'borrowed', as well as that blade Rufus used." The mole rat nodded, but couldn't speak, working his way through a seven-cheese casserole made especially for him. "Then, Minnesota, to get whatever this DNAmy left for Kim."

"We'll have to be careful there," Ron pointed out, "We don't know who Amy was sharing the lair with!"

"We will, Ron! Anyway, then Middleton, to drop Ron off, then back to Global Justice, and that's it, I think!" JJ paused. "And we see how Charley's really doing!"

"Do you think she's okay?" Ron asked, "I mean, we can put off the Japan and Minnesota trips, if you want to go straight there."

Belle shook her head, "No, we need to finish all our business before we go back to Global, Ron, we don't know how long we'll be saying there. After running off with Thundagirl, Doctor Director might lock us up!" Her tone indicated she didn't think that was likely.

"Ron, do you think it's a good idea, our asking to join Team Possible, with all the responsibilities Kim already has?" Seeing Ron's face begin some hideous contortions, Beth grimaced, "Oh, I see you don't!"

"What! Huh? Oh, no, this is just me...thinking." Ron grinned, sheepishly, "Just trying to calculate the stress levels in my head." At the three confused looks he received(Rufus ignoring his friend for the moment, priorities being what they were, cheese over Ron's antics), Ron tried to explain, "You see, KP needs responsibilities, she just can't seem to function without having some! She needs to be active, she needs people, she can't just lay back and chill, at least not for more then a few minutes. Her trouble is, she can take on more then she can handle, and I've sort of devoted my life to seeing that...Okay, a bit melodramatic, huh? Anyway, as far as you guys are concerned, you're not necessarily a burden, since you can give back, you know what I mean? You can help her with her problems, especially if I'm not around to do my bit. Probably not going to the same college, the way things look now. And her best friend Monique is heading to Europe for at least one year, so she'll need someone new to keep her from overdoing everything." He paused to take a breath, "So, in conclusion, I think it might be a great idea!"

"Well, that's nice to know, if we even have the option. But, I still want to know what's up with Charley, before I decide." JJ commented.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask, what's your full name, JJ?"

"Jennifer Jasmine Kobayashi. I shortened it, after leaving our home world." she frowned as she said this, "I may have gone overboard, trying to forget. I mean, I don't want to forget my parents, but...I don't know, anymore, why I did that."

"So, if you traced your ancestry back to Earth, it would be Japanese, right?"

"Maybe, on one side of my family, but I have looked up other surnames I can remember from my family, and some originated in Korea, and at least one was Chinese. One may have been from Vietnam, not totally sure if I remember it correctly." she grinned at Ron, "So, just call me a generic Asian! With red hair! That came from Mom, by the way, think her heritage was part Scandinavian, but a long way back." Her face clouded slightly as she remembered her mother. "I miss them so much!"

Ron couldn't come up with something to cheer her up. He couldn't imagine losing his parents, but all three of these girls had. "_And Charley never knew hers!"_

That ended the talking, and the five ate in silence, until Ron noticed the time. "Oh! There's something I wanted Kim to see, on the TV! Let me see if it's on, first, before I bother her." He activated the remote, and as the picture resolved, his eyes grew wide. "Oh, No!" And, without thinking, "KIM!"

00000

The conversation in the dining area was a little more dignified, or at least the setting was. Shego poured wine for herself, Eliana, and Anne Possible before allowing any conversation to start, even though Kim was showing serious signs of impatience. After setting the bottle back in it's holder, she took a moment to sip her wine, and solicit opinions from the others, before finally looking at the redhead, seated opposite her, "Now, Kimmie, where should I begin?"

Kim blew out an exasperated sigh, before replying, "To start with, do you believe you really know the truth, this time?"

Shego nodded, "Yes, I do, actually. Maybe I haven't figured out all the wrinkles and nuances yet, but the truth, yes!" Sheorganized her thoughts before continuing. "The process, as we already know, involved two steps, assigning the powers, and then the proper 'attitude'. Whatever they put in us had to have very sophisticated programming, because I doubt it began to make radical changes in our emotional reactions to certain things, since a sudden change of behavior might have made us supicious, or made others wonder if we were emotionally unstable."

"And with the obvious physical changes, people might have believed that mental instability might make you a danger to the public?" Anne suggested.

"Exactly!" Shego agreed. "Now, as time went by, the programs ramped up their influence, clearly trying to make us act according to their intent. That's where I can lay some of the blame for the break-up with my family. But not all. I resented the City interferring in our lives, just when I believed I'd acheived some sort of stability in my life. I also didn't like the way they explotied us, and as the program kicked in, I became more and more unruly. But, I'm not saying that I wouldn't have eventually rebelled anyway. Now, as time went by, I think the programs became 'smarter', in a way, and reinforced certain patterns of thought with 'good' feelings

"Thoughts that made them feel heroic, you mean? Noble thoughts, etcetera?" Eliana asked.

Washing some food down with a swallow of wine, Shego nodded. "Right! While at the same time, they tried to prevent any 'bad' thiniking, or any that was even just inconvenient, like guilt."

Kim frowned, "Shouldn't Heroes feel guilty?"

"Responsibility yes, Princess, but not guilt. Guilt can cause people to do strange things, re-think and question their values, all sorts of inconvenient things, as far as our hero-makers were concerned. Mind you, for publicity's sake, they had to look as if they 'felt' guilty, if the occasion demanded it. So, there was the capability of 'manufacturing' guilt, something that wasn't real to them, but would show in their manner, so people could 'see' it. That's what had me puzzled that night in the gallery, I was aware of something wrong with my feelings, but didn't understand it."

"But for how long, Ana?" Anne Possible asked, "Were these programs supposed to last forever?"

Shego paused thoughtfully, then shook her head. "I don't think so. She mentioned something about my villain program being 'refreshed' in the Attitudinator. That might have been a necessary 'maintenance' procedure for us. In fact, I clearly remember my enthusiasm for many 'evil' things waning at a certain point, and now that I think of it, that enthusiasm was renewed after my experience with the Attitudinator. I remember having very confused feelings during the period it was absent from my head, but I bought into the story that the Attitudinator actually reversed one's beliefs in good and evil, and attributed the confusion to that. Now with Hego, I think one 'dose' of the lawful program wore out, and the second kicked in to replace it, maintaining his heroic resolve."

After another bite of food washed down with wine, she continued. "My main bane at some points was my stubborn refusal to admit I could be in the wrong. I refused to consider my past choices as being wrong, that's one reason I continued to be a villain. I continued to be a thief for the thrills. I enjoyed fighting Kimmie as well. But, now I had to actively deny affection for my brothers, among other things. And I began to wonder why I was fighting it so hard. Of course, with the rep I had built up, and my criminal record, I didn't see much chance of turning things around without a great effort, and I still had no compelling reason to do that...Possible, eat some of that before it gets cold, this conversation is on hold until you do!" Kim frowned, but acquiesced, and things were silent for five minutes.

It wasn't Kim who grew impatient this time, but her mother. "So, why do you think this alien decided to intervene, and specifically by aiding you?"

Shego shook her head, and took another sip of wine before answering. "No idea. Her motives may be noble, maybe not. I'm troubled by the idea she got in trouble for helping us, if that's the real reason she was 'relieved'." She looked around. "Kind of weird to think one of them might be watching me, might have been watching me all these years."

There was silence for nearly a minute, as everyone considered that. The Anne Possible spoke, "So, how did you two get so...comfortable with each other, so quickly?"

KIm an Shego both looked at her for a moment in astonishment. "Um...well..." Kim faltered, then suddenly found her voice. "When we were impregnated, the Rani used some kind of time acceleration to bring the babies to term quickly, so we were in this tank, right?" She waited until her mother and Eliana both nodded. "Well, there was also this link that was meant to transfer our skill knowledge to the babies, and I think somehow it linked mine and Shego's minds, allowing us to communicate with each other. And I think we literally had the equivalent of nine months just talking to each other." She paused and made a face, "We just can't remember everything we said to each other, we just know how w e feel about each other now."

Anne nodded in understanding, but still seemed unconvinced. "But your attitude towards Shego began to change before that, didn't it?" she asked.

Kim straightened up, looking slightly embarrassed. "I guess so. I mean, I started to trust her, but since we were in the tank together, since we had the babies, I've just...you're right, I'm comfortable with her, almost freakishly so."

Shego snorted. "And if that isn't weird enough for Kimmie, imagine me feeling the same!"

"Well, the level of comfort with each other you're showing would make people think you'd been friends all your lives. Or married twenty years!" Anne observed.

Kim looked at her mother as if she'd grown a second head. "Exaggerate much?" she asked, but the sarcasm was weak.

Shego shook her head, "This conversation has taken a turn for the weird!" she saw Eliana looking at her speculatively. "What? You think I'm getting too comfy with Kimmie?"

"Too comfortable, Ana? What would be _too_ comfortable? I think the little ones have a pair of good parents, whatever those parents themselves might think!"

"Oh!" Shego said, seeing a chance to change the subject, "Doctor Possible, I already told Kim, I'm going to see my lawyer, make sure that if something happens to me, Kim will have no trouble getting custody of Milly. But, God Forbid, if something happens to both of us, you have no objections to my listing you and your husband as next in line, or whatever the term is?"

"Of course not! I'm glad you had the courtesy to ask, but at the same time, I...guess I'm a little mad you thought you had to, sorry!" Anne looked across the table at Eliana, "But what about Eliana? Shouldn't you consider..." Eliana was waving her hands.

"No, no, no! I could try and be a mother to her, but I couldn't give her a family environment, like you can! Understand, I would feel honored to raise Ana's little one, but I think you and your husband, with your experience," Anne rolled her eyes at that, but smiled, "Would be better for her."

Kim, still unconsciously rubbing Shego's shoulder, smirked, "Well, I guess that's all figured out, if we both decide to do something stupid, the girls will be..."

And they all heard Ron's shout from the living room, "KIM!"

00000

SmartyWorld had been built in the last year, nine miles south of Go City. It was financed by Martin Smarty, of course, CEO of Smarty Enterprises, best known until now as the operators of the SmartyMart chain of stores. Construction had begun under the auspices of the Wheelkin Entertainment Corporation, which had originally pitched the idea to Mr Smarty.

Halfway through construction, however, one of the senior partners of Wheelkin, Vincent Wheeler, had abruptly left the country to avoid some unpleasant questions from the IRS. His partner, Henry Perkins, while dealing with his own legal matters, had sold the company's assets outright to Martin Smarty, who had completed construction with his own people. Unfortunately, the change in personnel running the operation, and lack of true experience in building such a place shared by many involved, led to an oversight.

A large, almost perfectly round, hill was at the center of the park. It was known as Porter's Hill, after the purveyor of many of the snacks available on it's summit. On top was the main food court for the park, with a dozen different eateries and fast-food booths located on it. On one side of the hill was a small water-park, with several pools, slides, and the like for all ages to enjoy. Originally, the pool was supposed to be built on the north side of the hill, but a study conducted after the change in builders concluded that in order to get the most sunlight on the area, for those seeking tans, it was best to locate it on the west side. Since the park was only open between May and mid-October, this was considered the ideal placement, relative to the sun's position.

The oversight occurred in failing to realize the impact this would have on the park's Skyway, which traversed the park from east to west and back again, passing directly over Porter's Hill. The Skyway ran level until it reached the hill, where it ascended, crossing over the court, and then descended on the far side. In order to support the Skyway, while accommodating the pools below, on the west side an elaborate tower was built, designed to resemble a giant octopus, with it's supports spaced among the pools below, and on the slope above it. Ironically, this actually produced enough shade to diminish the effect of relocating the pool in the first place! Two waterslides wound between some of the supports. The tower was crowned with a giant relief of Marty McSmarty, the SmartyMart mascot, a walking brain.

The problem was, with the pools below, and the tower in the way, for a portion of it's course several of the cars on the Skyway would be out of reach of any aerial ladders available to the local fire departments, if something went wrong. This was hardly a secret, at least among the lower echelons, and many employees heard the story when they began work. And one of these shared that knowledge with friends.

The Skyway cars could hold six people comfortably, seated on a circular bench around the inside of the car, broken only by the entry door. They had a roof, supported by four struts that above the roof curved together on each side in pairs, connecting to a crossbeam which supported the main weight of the cars, while allowing them to swing enough to remain level as they ascended or descended the inclines at Porter's Hill.

At 5:45 PM, Central Time, four carefully selected cars were all in the zone where their occupants were beyond easy rescue, two on the westbound cable, descending the hill, and two on the eastbound, ascending. At that point, four sharp detonations occurred, and each car's supports were damaged at one end of the crossbeam, causing them to tilt dangerously. It also set off a safety feature, which automatically stopped the Skyway altogether.

Thirty seconds later, the FBI received a phone call...

00000

Betty Director strode into the Operations Room, her gaze sweeping across the monitors, most of which were set to various news reports. She saw several different views of the Skyway, with only one or two shots of other subjects, including one reporter Betty knew had some kind of deal with his network regarding how much time the camera would be on him per minute of live broadcast. "_And his network misses a couple of money shots because of it! Talk about Ego!" _"All Right! Tell me what we have, people!" She barked.

"Fifteen people trapped in the four damaged cars, one hundred three more trapped in thirty more stalled cars. Only two cars are empty, since they were in the loading stations at either end of the line when the Skyway shut down." Agent Simpson responded.

"FBI just informed us that they received a phone call, threatening to detonate charges on eight more cars, if demands are not met. These charges won't just damage the cars, they'll drop them completely, according to the threat." Agent Harp reported. "Demands involve a prisoner transport by air, currently in progress. Terrorists insist the plane divert from Guantanamo to another location, offload their prisoners, and allow them to leave on another aircraft. Trying to get a satellite image of the island, see what kind of aircraft is waiting."

"We have any information on the identities of the prisoners involved, Mister Harp?"

"Not yet, Ma'am. Promised that info within five minutes, though."

"What about rescue efforts, have they been forbidden?"

"Yes, Ma'am, they're putting pressure on the FBI, by keeping those people in peril."

"In any event, Ma'am, rescue efforts will be difficult due to the position of two of the cars." Agent Brenda Core reported, "All are out of reach of fire department ladders, and making a rescue by helicopter will be extremely risky, and only practical with two of the cars, the others are too close to the tower, and the angle of the cables is inconvenient, too."

"What about rescue attempts from the tower itself?" Betty could already guess the answer, just from what she could see on the monitors.

"Not impossible, Ma'am, but damned difficult, and time consuming, we have no information regarding how long those cars can hang like that."

Agent Harp received a call on his headset. After several minutes, he looked to an expectant Doctor Director. "The two men who tried to bomb the Embassy of the Federation of Malaysia are on that plane, members of the November 22nd group!"

"Great! A group based on a personal grudge, no less!" Betty groaned. The November 22nd group had been formed by an ex-General in the Malaysian Army, who had been sacked five years previously, on November 22nd, the day he now claimed the country had 'chosen it's future'. Exactly what was meant by that, he had not revealed. The group's exact size and numbers had not yet been established. And to date, they had no record of success in their actions.

"Well, notify Global Justice South Pacific/Southeast Asia, tell Howard Bailiwick one of his crazies just started trouble here, see if he has any suggestions." Just then, Abby burst in, looking a little red-faced. "About time, Miss Hogan, what kept you?" Betty's half-smile belied the sarcasm in her voice.

"I was talking to Charley when the alarm went off, she tried to get out of bed to see if she could help!" Betty's good eye widened, "Took a little time to talk her into behaving herself, sorry, Ma'am!"

"Thought I told that girl to get some sleep!" Betty shook her head, "Never mind, Abby!" She turned to look at the monitors. "How long until the terrorists will realize that the FBI isn't going to cooperate?"

"They're going to fly to the island, but not land, Ma'am!" Agent Harp replied. "They did think of possibly landing somewhere, an Air Force base most likely, off loading the prisoners, and picking up a tactical team of one kind or another, and taking it to the island. However, it's possible the terrorists might be monitoring the flight. Switching planes was ruled out since, if the terrorists have knowledge of the flight itself, which should have been secret, they most likely know the aircraft's serial number. All in all, we may have thirty to forty minutes, tops."

"Well, we have to try and find some way to stall them. Nothing we can do to help with the rescue, directly."

"Ma'am?" Agent Core spoke up, "We're getting a communication from a Miss Flores? She claims to be calling for Team Possible!"

00000

Everyone gathered quickly in Shego's living room, looking at the reports from SmartyWorld on the big screen TV. Though in Spanish, no one had any difficulty understanding what was happening. When the commentator reported the difficulties faced in rescuing the people in the cars, Kim's mind began to race. Almost as if sensing this, or by some other instinct most of the eyes in the room were drawn to the girl.

Anne Possible knew what was going to happen, and opened her mouth to object, but then closed it again. There were so many good reasons to head this off, but it was her daughter's choice.

"I need a Kimmunicator." Kim spoke quietly. JJ handed hers over without question. Kim took a second to assure herself the controls were the same as her old unit, then activated it. "Wade...uh, Zita?" The face on the screen took a moment to hide her shock at Kim's appearance, before breaking into a smile.

"Hey, Kim! Glad to see you're all right, though you need to get some weight back on, girl! Wade's taking a break, what do you need?"

Kim hesitated for a moment, then plunged on, "Contact Global Justice, Zita, and ask for any information about the SmartyWorld incident that the press doesn't know about, especially anything hindering rescue attempts. We'll need it as soon as possible!"

Zita seemed a little surprised, "O-okay, Kim, I'm on it!" she disconnected.

Kim turned to the three girls, Ron, and Rufus. "Well, let's go! Those people are in trouble, and we may be the only ones who can save them!"

"Kimberley, Little one, you cannot..." Eliana broke off at the determined look in the girl's eyes. Then Kim gave a tired smile, and nodded, "Don't worry, you're right, I won't be doing anything strenuous, but it's _my_ Team, I have to go, this time! Mom, stay here with Amy, we'll be back for you!" Kim saw the concern in both women's faces, but forced herself to ignore it. "_If I stop to think about it, and how right they are to be concerned, I may lose my nerve!"_

It took forever to reach Thundagirl, or so it seemed to Kim. JJ voiced the fear that they might not have any equipment at all aboard, but everything seemed the same as the last time aboard, with the exception of the weapons rack, which held only a single rifle and handgun. They looked different, but Kim paid them no mind, determined as she was just to make it to the rear compartment. Ron and Rufus each ducked into one of the tubes and closed the curtains, and the three girls began undressing. Belle spoke to Kim as she did. "Are you going to use an upright tube, Kim, or one of the beds?"

Kim grimaced. She so wanted to do this standing up, but knew she'd better not push things. "Bed, I guess." At least getting out of her clothes was easy. Getting dressed again would be more of a challenge. She was just settling down, when she heard footsteps on the ramp, and Shego appeared, peeling off her clothes. At Kim's surprised look, she shrugged, "What? You remember what the colonel said about a licensed pilot, didn't you?"

"I have a fixed wing certificate, Shego, got it last summer, before my little vacation on Isle Drakkon! And what if you're recognized? I'm not worried for me, I'm worried for you!"

"Yeah, well, you see any wings on this ship? My license says, 'she can fly anything, and if you have doubts, speak to the plasma-wrapped fist!'" She smirked before vanishing into the remaining upright tube. "As for being recognized? Not planning to do a press conference, Kimmie!"

Kim sighed, "Thundagirl**, **do you have the coordinates set?"

"Ready to go, Boss!"

Kim couldn't help but smile at being called 'boss'. "Then, Let's go!"

00000

And things went back to weird, all over again.

"What the..." Burst from several mouths. Kim looked around in shock, rapidly giving way to anger. They all appeared to be standing in...well, one end of the space looked like the gymnasium of Middleton High, the other like a very elaborate obstacle course. They were all present, and all dressed in gym clothes, even Rufus.

"What are you doing!? We have people to save, you can't do this!" Kim screamed.

"Miss Possible, in case you have forgotten, we have a few tricks we can do with time! I assure you, you will arrive at the scene of the incident no later then you would have had, if we had not done this!" Predictably, it was another version of Mister Barkin, dressed in his coach's outfit. "This is entirely taking place in your minds, something you need to remember, none of what you do here will be 'remembered' by your bodies, afterwards!"

Still frowning, Kim gave a sharp nod, to signal she understood his meaning. He nodded back, then continued, "The most we can give you is the equivalent of seven hours, approximately, to familiarize yourselves with the equipment you will find when you come out of your jump. How you organize those seven hours is entirely up to you. Now, the equipment in question is right over there." He gestured at several tables, "Remember, this is virtual, so you do not have to actually dress, you could simply will the gear on to your bodies, but then you wouldn't learn how to don it properly. There are many shortcuts you could take, but I don't advise it!"

Kim nodded, said "Thank You", a little curtly, and led the way to the tables, though Ron and Belle had to hold themselves back from passing her. Shego lingered near 'Coach Barkin'. "Uh, not sure how to ask this, but is there any chance I could talk to...you know?" 'Barkin' frowned, but nodded, "I will ask if she wishes to, it will be her choice." Shego nodded, then turned to follow the others.

As the others reached the tables, an apparition in the form of Wade Load appeared. "Now, wait just a minute!" Ron cried, "No fair, using Wade's image!"

"Ron, it's me!" Wade addressed him, "I think I'm actually taking a nap, but I'm here, too! They told me it isn't a dream, this is so cool!" Everyone stood blinking at the grinning genius, before Kim snapped out of it. "What have you got for us, Wade?"

"Well, this vest, and I'm sorry it's so rigid, contains a means of manipulating gravity. It's based on projects I initiated, but couldn't complete, until these people gave me the final piece of the puzzle!"

"Hey, doesn't that violate any of your rules about non-intervention, or something?" Ron asked 'Barkin'.

"No."

"Oh!"

"Ron, pay attention, we don't have much time!" Kim snapped, then winced, "Sorry, Ron!" she apologized.

"No big, KP, you're right!"

Wade continued his instruction. "The Anti-gravity can negate up to eighty percent of your body weight, and the weight of any gear you are _wearing, _bu tnot what you might be holding, or carrying." He swept his arms wide to encompass the contents of the tables. "A lot of this you'll be familiar with, it's just that it's no longer disguised as normal items a teenage girl would carry. You've got three types of grapplers, here, one mounted in a wrist vambrace, which also contains a built-in flashlight; the grapple gun, which is smaller, and no longer looks like a hair dryer;" A sad look briefly appeared on Kim's face, then she nodded acceptance. "And what I call a 'snap-grapple', or snap-on grapple. Basically, you hook it to a person, or an object, fire the line, and activate an automatic winch to lift the subject! You should try and attach it to a belt, or something similar, though if one of the skulls uses it's ability to make a person lighter, you might be able to attach it to normal clothes. It has a 'smart' ability to avoid embedding it's hooks in somebody's body, no matter how thin the material you're attaching it too is."

"We also have the gel bombs, small laser, stink gas, though you won't need that for a rescue, smoke bombs, likewise!"

Kim nodded, and her voice betrayed her impatience as she said, "Okay, let's get started!"

Shego smirked, "Okay, Coach, what's first?"

Ron paled slightly, "Don't use the 'c' word with Kim, Shego!" He hissed, "You don't know what you're asking for!" He suddenly saw that his words had somehow carried to Kim, who was giving him quite a glare. "Heh, KP! Didn't mean...I mean, I wasn't..."

Then Kim smiled, "No big, Ron! Not like I wasn't fully aware of my personality flaws!" Ron began to relax, before she continued, "Especially after reading so much about them in your stories!" Ron's blood again 'abandoned face', as he gulped, but Kim turned back to address the others, hiding her smirk. "Okay, let's suit up, and start by practicing with the grapplers, and...Wade, are those jet packs?"

"Flight packs would be a better description, Kim. Jets or rockets make hovering more difficult, and you always have to be careful of the exhaust. These use ducted fans and thrusters, with a little more anti-gravity boost, enough to negate the pack's weight. You have to remember not to make yourselves too light while flying, or you will become too vulnerable to the wind!"

Kim nodded, grinning widely. "You rock, Wade! Okay, we need grapple practice, and some with the flight packs, plus as many of the non-weapon items here as we can, before we get to SmartyWorld! Let's get to it!"

00000

Shego swooped through an aerial obstacle course, face grim. She'd be enjoying it more if Kim hadn't posted a better time then Shego herself had managed in three tries. "_She better not get carried away, though! In here, she's perfectly healthy, but not in the real world!"_ She ducked under a crossbar, made a quick ninety-degree left, then zigzagged to the finish line. She checked her own chronometer and winced, "_Two and a half seconds! Got to be a way to shave that off!"_ Then she suddenly noticed that there was someone sitting in the bleachers of the 'gym' section. Shego didn't recognize the face, but knew who it had to be.

She dove towards the gym floor, making a perfect landing just short of the lowest tier of the bleachers, then walked up to the girl sitting there. Kim followed her flight, frowning until she saw who she was approaching. Leaving the others to keep up their practice, she jogged over to join the conversation, if welcome.

Shego didn't recognize the teenage girl's face, but somehow sensed that this was the same being she'd met before. Now she looked about sixteen, with long dark hair, wearing a school uniform of blazer, white blouse, and conservative skirt. "What's with the change in image?" Shego asked curiously.

"It's a more accurate reflection of my nature, actually." The girl replied quietly, "You see, by my race's standards, I'm not quite an adult yet, and now I'll have to wait longer to get there." Seeing the puzzled look son Kim's and Shego's faces, she smiled shyly. "Can't really tell you how my race works, but we sometimes need responsibilities to actually become adults. This was my first test, to see if I was ready to grow up, and I didn't, but I'll get others, don't worry about me, really!"

Shego looked skeptical, but nodded. "If you say so. Now, how much trouble are you in for helping me?"

The girl shifted uneasily. "Not much, really. I may have to regress, but that's not really because of you!"

"Regress?" Kim asked, "Does that mean what I think it means?"

"IT means I return to the form of an infant, and start to grow again." The girl answered, and giggled when she saw the shocked looks her announcement caused. "It's not just because of you, and I'll have that much better chance of success next time. But don't worry, this is normal for my people, honestly!"

Shego was silent a moment, then nodded slowly. "If you say so. I guess someone else is keeping an eye on me, now?"

The girl smiled and nodded, "But this time, it's an adult! Of course, that means no more intervention in your life, even in desperate circumstances, sorry!"

"That's okay, I guess. Have to take care of myself, or let others help me with that." She grimaced slightly upon speaking the last, but then smiled again. "As long as I'm around to see my girl, err, girls, grow up!"

"And that will be a lot of growing, as far as Milly's concerned!" The girl slapped her hand over her mouth, "Oops, shouldn't have said that! Oh, well, I just meant, if you take good care of her, Milly's going to be quite a tall girl, at least she has that genetic disposition."

"So, I have a future basketball star for a daughter?"

Kim laughed, "If she gets your love of the sun, more likely a beach volleyball star!" She turned to the girl, as Shego nodded thoughtfully. "And Amy?"

The girl looked regretful. "Well, lets just say, you will definitely be looking up to her, unless something stunts her growth."

Kim threw up her hands, "Naturally! I'm going to be the runt of the group, when we take family pictures!" Shego gave her a funny look, but didn't speak.

The girl stood up, smoothing down her skirt self-consciously. "I have to go now, and you have to get back to your practice. I just wanted to say...good-bye, Anastasia Whitlock!" And she hugged Shego, who took a moment to return it. Kim looked embarrassed to be intruding on the moment. Then the girl broke the embrace, waved, and vanished into thin air.

"Damn! I never really knew she was there, but somehow, I'm going to miss her, is that nuts?" Shego looked at Kim, a little extra moisture glistening in her eyes.

Kim put her arm around Shego's waist, and they began to descend the bleachers to the floor. "You, nuts? Never! Seriously, no, you're not nuts. But not much like the Shego I first met, Thank Goodness!"

Shego raised one eyebrow, "'Goodness', Princess? So not, in my case!"

Kim returned the same look, "Call it what you will, Ana, but this isn't the edgy woman from Go City, or the sadistic villain who hurt me for her enjoyment. I think this is how that teenager from the orphanage would have turned out, if things had been normal."

"I wouldn't go that far, Kimmie, but maybe you're right. Who knows?" She pulled away, and activated her flight pack. "Now, excuse me, but I have to beat a certain time on that obstacle run, Princess!" She soared away, leaving Kim shaking her head, smiling.

It didn't seem as if enough time had passed, when 'Coach Barkin' reappeared, and announced, "Time's Up, people! In more ways then one!" He appeared saddened, "This will be the last time we interact, unless something totally unexpected happens. I might actually see why our descendants decided to help humanity in the future." He pulled himself upright, and resumed a stern attitude. "Now, you are about to transition to SmartyWorld! Good Luck to you all, and all those who you try to aid!"

As their surroundings began to fade, Kim shouted, "Thank You, and we wish you well!"

And once again, Normalcy resumed.

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Please Read and Review!


	20. Too soon to return?

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible, and of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

* * *

SmartyWorld, predictably, was engulfed in chaos. All visitors were being asked to exit the park, but even those willing to obey were dragging their feet, as they tried to keep an eye on the source of all the excitement, the Skyway. Officials had to balance the need to clear the park with the need to avoid a panic, and had to be careful what they said until the crowd had thinned to manageable proportions. So, as yet, twenty-five minutes after the explosions, no admission of terrorists being involved had been issued. But of course, some suspected as much.

Porter's Hill had been cleared immediately, all the venues on it shut down, and rescue crews now stood idle at the base of one of the tower supports, frustrated by the threat of more explosives. At least one news crew had managed to get a shot of them, and the reporter was currently discussing the implications with her producer. The horde of ground bound camera crews had been supplemented with helicopters from all four Network affiliates from Go City, as well as three representing national and international news services. These now circled, mixing with at least four helicopters from law enforcement agencies.

The water park had also been cleared, though the cool air of the early evening had already caused the swimming crowd to thin. But park officials were slow to close some of the food venues farther from the scene of the crisis, and this caused many people to decide that they did not need to withdraw farther then these places, which were still doing good business off the rubberneckers.

The TV crews were spread out, to avoid interfering with each others broadcasts, and to try and get the best angles on the damaged cars. Two of these were plainly visible, one on each side, but the other pair were a different matter. The higher of the two on the ascending eastbound side was close to one of the supports, one of four that were more decorative then functional, the other four being the main load-bearing members. The other higher car, descending westbound on the northern side, was under the tower, directly below where two supports divided, and could only be seen from certain angles from the ground.

State and County Police, Park Security, and an increasing number of Federal officers were trying to corral both the news crews and the park employees exiting their venues after shutting them down, keeping them out of the way as firemen maneuvered their heavy equipment as close to the Skyway as possible. But not only did the firemen already know this effort was futile, but it had already leaked to some of the press, as well.

One reporter was trying to convey this news to the anchorman back in her network's main studio, while trying to get away from another reporter who's stentorian voice threatened to overwhelm her own, his every word uttered as a pronouncement of indisputable fact, though he was trying to inject drama into his discourse by suggesting a race between the firemen reaching the trapped people and the cars falling, so he apparently didn't know about the cars being out of reach of the ladders.

As she tried to maneuver within the tightening cordon of police, she was one of several who heard a low rumble from the sky. Most of the others, speculating aloud whether it was a distant explosion, since the sky was clear, didn't realize the sound came from directly overhead. But she did, and looked straight up. "Don, an unidentified aircraft has just appeared overhead, and is descending rapidly towards us! I didn't see which direction it came from, but it is now descending vertically." Her cameraman lowered himself to a kneeling position as he panned his camera upwards, locking onto the strange ship, rapidly growing larger as it descended. "The aircraft is not a familiar type, I have no idea who this can be, but they're presumably bent on rescuing the trapped people."

Others were now looking up at the approaching craft, with the reporters beginning to talk in more excited tones, while most of the police wore puzzled frowns as they speculated among themselves as to the identity of the newcomers.

0000000000

"_Flores? Can't recall the name. Common enough Hispanic name, unlikely to be related to Agent Flores, but there's a coincidence!" _Doctor Director looked at Agent Core, "Video component?" Core nodded, "Okay, the blank screen, please." The 'blank screen' was merely one that prevented the person on the other end of the line from viewing the interior of the Ops Room. It was located in an alcove containing no other monitors or reflective surfaces.

As Betty stepped into the alcove, the screen activated to show Zita Flores, and Betty made the connection. "_She dated Ron Stoppable once upon a time, I remember the surveillance images."_ "Miss Flores, is it? Why are you speaking for Team Possible, may I ask?"

"Basically, Ma'am, because it was decided Wade needed someone to spell him from time to time, and I volunteered. Right now, he had better be sleeping in his bed, after his mother found out he pulled another allnighter online."

"I see. Well, I may need more than your word for it, Miss Flores. What was the purpose of your communication, anyway?"

"Kim asked for any information about the SmartyWorld incident that wasn't on the news reports, especially anything that might hinder rescue operations by the team. She said she'd need it quick, so I guess she must be close to the park, already."

Betty kept her surprise from showing. "_Close? When you have a ship like __Thundagirl__, anywhere on Earth is close. Miss Flores obviously doesn't know about her, yet. Or, she doesn't think I do, which is less likely. But Kim is in no shape...but she's not alone, is she?" _Aloud, she said, "I see, you mean to say..."

"Doctor Director! I think Thundagirl just appeared over SmartyWorld!" Agent Simpson shouted. "_Damn! No time to think it over, go on gut instinct...Hell, what have I got to lose!" _"Miss Flores, listen closely!"

0000000000

After seven virtual hours of feeling her normal, healthy self, suddenly returning to her weakened flesh and blood body made Kim acutely aware of the difference between the two, and she wondered if she was up for this, when sounds of movement spurred her into action to deal with her state of undress.

Pulling herself to a sitting position on the side of the tube, she reached for her clothes, piled on one of the smaller tubes the babies had ridden in. Getting to her feet, she began to dress as quickly as she could, but barely had her underwear on before JJ popped out of her cubicle fully dressed. "Need help, Kim?" she asked solicitously.

Kim winced. "I would _sooo_ like to say no, but I can't stand on pride here. Please, and Thank You."

Shego emerged next, rolling her shoulders. "Okay, what's the plan?"

Kim snorted. "Study the sitch, decide on a solution, and do it!" She said in mock exasperation.

SHego gave her a wide-eyed look. "It's that easy being a hero? Man, I _have_ been on the wrong side!"

Kim ignored her. "What's our status, T-Girl**?"**

"Altitude four thousand and descending, directly over the scene, Boss!"

"Kim, you decent?" came Ron's voice.

Kim zipped up the front of her jumpsuit, and responded, "Decent as I've ever been, Ron!"

"Cool!" Ron emerged from his tube simultaneously with Belle from the opposite one, and the two briefly danced around each other, Ron trying to head forward, Belle aft. Rufus emerged just as they sorted themselves out, and became Belle's new dance partner as he tried to follow Ron.

An amused grin on her face, Shego remarked "Hmm, guess they should have widened the compartment when they had the chance!"

"What! And make me look fat?" an indignant T-Girl responded.

Shego laughed, but a glance at Kim prevented the humor from reaching her eyes. "You know you're just here in an advisory capacity, right, Princess?" She asked the teen pointedly. It seemed that everyone paused and looked towards Kim to await her answer.

An exasperated expression on her face, Kim nodded sharply. "Yes, I know! But, always be ready for the unexpected, someone once told me. Let's get forward, and someone contact Zita, see what she's heard from Global Justice." Fully dressed, she smiled her thanks to JJ, then walked forwards into the central bay. Then something occured to her. "Oh, T-Girl? What do we have for lifting, that sort of thing?" She asked curiously.

"Winches and booms, mainly." came the quick response, "There's one boom for each side hatch. The port one swings out and lines up directly over the center of the hatch, is four feet long, and has a winch with 400 feet of cable, weight limit 1500 pounds. Starboard boom swings out parallel to the trailing edge of the ramp...Oh! I can now lock the ramp in a horizontal position, to act as a work platform. Could hold it there before, but this is better. Anyway, boom lines up four feet above the level of the ramp, two foot clearance horizontally, and extends two feet past the end of the ramp. Winch has six hundred feet of cable, weight limit same, the pulley can be positioned anywhere along the boom. There's a folding rescue basket secured against the aft bulkhead for use with either boom. Two people can assemble it easily. I, of course, can run both winches for you."

Kim nodded in satisfaction. "Spankin! Now, we have a rescue to carry out!" she declared. The holographic display panel swung down from the front bulkhead, just to the left of the cockpit door, while a video screen activated on the opposite side. As a 3-D depiction of the Skyway began to resolve on the former, the latter showed a view of the Porter's Hill area as they descended. Kim was just getting the layout set in her mind when Beth spoke up. "Kim, I have Zita, she says you need to hear this!" She handed Kim her comm.

"Kim! Doctor Director says the terrorists who started this have put bombs on eight more cars, and will detonate them if anyone tries to rescue those people in the damaged ones!"

Kim scowled fiercely as her mind raced. Then she turned quickly enough to upset her own equilibrium, causing Shego to grab her elbow, but ignored that. "Boys! All but Walt, stealth up, and go find those explosives! Search all the cars just in case! Then, Fred, Saul, Ben, keep searching other parts of the Skyway that might be vulnerable, while the rest come back to help us! If you find explosives, send us an image, so we can see if it's safe for you to disarm them. Um, do we need Charley's bracer for that?"

"No, Kim, I can now relay all visual and scanned images from the boys." T-Girl answered.

Kim again nodded, "Okay, you boys get going! Walt, I want you to head to the first damaged car, and give us a close look at the place where they've been damaged, Okay?" Walt bobbed, and zipped after the other six, who ducked through a small panel that opened in the aft bulkhead. "Where does that lead?" Kim asked.

"To an access for the boys, that can be sealed and pressurized like an airlock if need be. Comes out at the very rear of my fuselage." T-Girl replied.

JJ and the Reeder sisters were at the equipment racks, gearing up. First the vests, then utility belts, though many of the pouches remained empty until they decided what specifically to fill them with for this situation. "Hand me my vest, please!" Kim called to them.

Both Ron and Shego started to speak at once, but she held her hand up. "Just in case, you never know what might go wrong. I might not be able to do much, but I want to be prepared to do what I can, please don't argue." She went back to studying the design of the tower, and the positioning of the damaged cars. "The supports for the tower aren't symmetrical, are they all real?"

"Four of them actually bear the tower's weight, Kim." T-Girl answered, and the four in question were highlighted on the display. "The other four seem to be entirely decorative. It looks as if they originally wanted it to look like an octopus, one with a brain for it's head?"

"Actually," Ron said, "They were planning to call it Brainypus, who would have also been the mascot of another park down in Florida, but that was canceled, and Artie Smarty said it was lame, anyway." Kim gave him a curious look, and he shrugged, "We still talk, from time to time."

Kim nodded and got down to business. "Well, two cars should be easy to reach, the two out in the open. T-Girl can get close enough to them to take the people directly aboard. But these other two...we need to do two things, rescue the people, and secure the cars so they won't fall. We need to see where and how they're damaged before we know how to do that. Let's approach from this side, and take the people off the car on the south cable that we can reach first. From there, getting to the other car on the south side, the one behind this support." She pointed to one of the 'decorative', wavy supports, "Can be done with a grappling line. For the two on the north cable, we'll use flight packs."

"Shego, you're the best with one of those, at least currently available," Shego made a face at her, "So I want you to take the car that's all the way up under the supports. JJ, you take the other one that needs to be flown to. Belle, you work on the car we'll be evacuating, and Beth the one we need to grapple to. Ron and Rufus can help the people out of the cars and into Thundagirl**.** We may have to risk moving the two cars Shego and Beth will be working on, in order to get the people off, but we'll only ask for the ride to be started after those cars are secured."

"Aw, I wanted to do one of the flight pack ones," Ron moaned, "Didn't you like my performance in the 'gym'?" He gave a grin to show he wasn't all that disappointed.

"Wel, Potential Boy, I have to say it was entertaining, but needs a little work on the landing part!"

"So, what else is new?" Shego and Ron said, together.

"Jinx!"

"Oh, please, Possible!"

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Fred found the first explosives. A quick analysis showed the detonator to be a simple device, apparently depending on it's inaccessibility to prevent being disarmed. It took practically no time to disable, and he relayed the data to the other skulls and T-Girl, before heading to the next car.

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As Thundagirl dropped closer to the stranded cars, one man in the crowd below stepped back into the shadows and opened up his cell phone.

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Park Security Headquarters was far too crowded for comfort, with representatives from all involved agencies all trying to get information, study the video monitors, and establish a pecking order. Communications were in chaos, as too many of the new arrivals had asked to share the park's own communications frequencies, as well as using their own.

By the time Everett Deal, FBI Special Agent in Charge for Go City walked in, park security employees were plainly tired of repeatedly answering the same questions, so after several testy replies to his inquiries, Deal finally managed to locate a local agent in the crowd. "How many people are trapped in the damaged cars?"

"Fifteen total. There are two families in the two cars on the south cable, one of five, one of four. Four high-school age kids in the one up under the tower, a college age couple in the last one." Deal, a fiftyish, heavyset man with receding sandy hair and a face made for scowling, nodded as he looked around the room. "Am I the senior officer here, do you think?" The agent shrugged, "I think someone from Homeland Security is on the way, but for the moment, I think you're it."

"Good!" Deal straightened his suit jacket self-consciously, and moved to the center of the room. Some of the others who had already recognized him watched him warily, knowing what was coming. "Everyone! May I have your attention, please! My name is Everett Deal, and I'm..." And one of the park technicians cut him off. "Hey! There's some weird aircraft descending over the park, it's heading for the Skyway!" People jostled each other as they all tried to scan the security monitors lining the walls, not realizing that the technician was actually looking at a portable TV monitor set next to his keyboard.

"What! Where?" Deal shouted.

"Huh? Oh, it's too high for any of our monitors, they don't point upwards, it's on TV!" The space around the technician's chair became very crowded, people all trying to get a good look at the small screen.

Deal's assistant suddenly grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the crowd. "Sir! We've just received another call from the terrorists, reminding us that if any rescue is attempted, they will explode their remaining bombs! They believe the call came from inside the park."

"That's no surprise, Bert! Even with all the Television coverage, they had to have someone here to watch for any funny business on our part." Deal raised his voice again. "May I have your attention! The terrorists just sent another message, reminding us of their intentions! We need to tell whoever is in that ship to back off, if they are not already aware of the danger! In fact, just tell them to back off, we can't broadcast information about the terrorist attack on an open frequency!"

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"Kim, We now have four explosives neutralized, and I have the detonation frequency recorded, if I can use two of the boys for triangulation, and the detonator is not too far away, I can get a fix if the signal is sent." Thundagirl announced.

Kim nodded, while studying the images Walt was sending of the damaged coupling on one of the cars. "Can you jam that frequency, T-Girl?"

The ship sounded embarrassed as she replied, "Actually, no. I don't actually have equipment specifically designed for jamming signals, Kim. Nothing I can do would be completely reliable, sorry!"

"That's Okay, Send the information to Global Justice, they can relay it to the people who can. Now, to this problem!" The image she was looking at showed where the supporting struts on one side of the car came together, connecting with a solid plate, three inches thick. There was a hole approximately four inches wide in the plate. A steel sleeve four inches long extended this opening on the inside of the support, meant to slip over the end of the steel shaft protruding from one end of the crossbeam. On the outside of the support, the hole extended outwards one inch, through which the shaft would protrude, and be secured by a steel cap. Scorch marks were visible at that point, and at the end of the crossbeam.

"They blew the cap off with one charge, and the support off the shaft with a second." Shego observed. "Getting the support back onto the shaft isn't likely, Is it?"

Kim shook her head, "No, but we can secure them in such a way as to take the stress off the other support, with one of Wade's new inventions."

JJ snapped her fingers. "Ah! I know which one you mean!"

"Each of you take two of them, just in case. We should at least make the cars secure enough to move them far enough to get all the people off." Kim's voice trailed off as she saw an image of the people in the car Walt was hovering around, two adults and three small children. Shego and the girls went to collect their remaining gear.

"Six down, two to go, Kim! And, someone is trying to contact us down below, and they are getting quite angry.!" Kim closed her eyes briefly at Thundagirl's announcement, swaying slightly on her feet. Then realizing she was being watched, she steadied herself. "Okay, T-Girl**, **put them on."

"...ordering you to move away from the park. In fact, I am ordering you to proceed to the nearest airfield and land, until Federal Officers have ascertained your identity!"

Kim grimaced. "This is Team Possible, we are intending to rescue the trapped persons, we are aware of the dangers, _all_ the dangers, and are dealing with them as we speak. We will not endanger any of the other people on the Skyway by our actions, I assure you."

There was silence for nearly a minute following her announcement, then the voice came back. "Whoever you are, you are _not_ aware of the situation, and you are forbidden to approach the ride. If you do not obey my orders, the Air Force will be asked to deal with you. Do you understand me?"

"Contact Global Justice if you don't believe me, but this _is_ Team Possible, we know _everything _we need to know..." T-Girl cut in, "All eight explosives disarmed, Kim! All cars have now been cleared!" Her voice carried to whoever was on the other end of the radio.

"WHAT! How!" Came a startled squawk from the speakers.

"Not important!" Kim snapped, "We need to get going with this rescue! We know the frequency the bombs were set for, and if someone sends a signal, we may be able to locate it, and pass it on to you. But right now, we have people to save! Team Possible, Out!" Kim turned quickly to the others, ignoring a touch of dizziness caused either by her emotions, or the sudden movement. "All right, let's do this!"

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Doctor Director watched on the monitors as Thundagirl swung close to one of the damaged cars, lowering her starboard ramp as she did. "_Someone changed her look again, Doctor Laird is probably having fits right now."_ She scanned all the monitors, looking for the best view of the action. Many of the camera crews were moving around, trying to obtain better angles, and apparently running into opposition from the police. Betty finally settled on one view. The camera in question was somewhere on the southern slope of Porter's Hill, and the higher elevation gave a better view of what was happening on Thundagirl's ramp.

Four figures emerged from the ship. Betty saw that three were JJ and the Reeder sisters, but the fourth puzzled her for the moment. That mystery fled her mind as JJ and the fourth woman suddenly leaped off the ramp and flew across to the cars on the north side. Even though the volume was turned down on all the feeds, a general increase in the noise from all of them signaled the increased excitement of the reporters.

One of the Reeder sisters extended her arm and fired a grappling line towards the higher car on the south side. The other tossed a line to the top of the car they were approaching, then made a short running leap across to land on the bracket supporting the crossbeam. As she did, T-Girl lowered and slid sideways to put her ramp as close to the exit door for the car. Ron Stoppable then emerged from the ship, along with a short figure Betty had to assume was the transformed Rufus. "_Going to have to see what I can do for him, before somebody tries to turn him into a lab project!" _Then another thought occurred to her, "_Why aren't they just using the skulls to teleport the victims to safety?"_

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"_Why aren't they using the boys to teleport everyone to safety?" _Charley wondered, looking at the wall-mounted television the nurses were watching. The curtains around her bed had been drawn back, allowing her to see most of the infirmary. "Something's wrong!" She muttered aloud, scowling, but then she remembered the Ar'Ithane's visit. He had said something about the boys' abilities being changed...then a puzzled frown appeared on the girl's face, Something was still wrong, but she couldn't bring it into focus...

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Back at the park, the same man again stepped out of sight of the crowd and activated his cell phone, speed-dialed a number, and spoke three words. Five miles away in a motel room, another man went to a radio transmitter and keyed a coded transmission.

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"Detonation signal sent!" Brenda Core crowed, "And we have a fix!"

Betty nodded curtly, "Very well, notify Special Agent Deal!" "_And hope he moves more decisively then he did in Go City!"_

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Kim looked at the equipment racks and lockers. "_Not supposed to do anything, but..." _She studied the various grappling lines. "_The gun version is out, weak as I am, but the wrist mounted one isn't a bad idea!" _She smiled to herself, even as she took one of the vambraces out and fitted it to her wrist. "_No worse an idea then me thinking I can do anything myself, that is!"_

Looking out on the ramp, she saw Ron open the door to the suspended car, as Belle worked on securing it. She also caught sight of one of the news helicopters dropping lower, and frowned. "_He's getting too close to the other line!"_

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"Somebody better tell that pilot to back off!" Abby Hogan growled. Betty nodded in agreement, but as she opened her mouth to reply, Agent Simpson interrupted. "Ma'am, I have a call for you, from UNIT, their Chief Medical Officer, he says it has to do with Kim Possible's medical condition, and it might be urgent!"

Betty frowned, then picked up a handset. "Route it to me here, and make it secure." She ordered.

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JJ Ko moved carefully on the bracket holding the crossbeam supporting the car she'd been assigned. Lying along the bracket, wrapping her legs around it to brace herself, she looked down at the damaged section. The support was now two feet or so below the shaft it had originally fit over. "_Looks like Kim's plan will work!" _She was aware that she was being buffeted by the rotorwash of one of the hovering helicopters, but it wasn't too bad, so she ignored it.

Reaching into one of the larger pouches of her belt, she pulled out what appeared to be a large ring, made primarily of gray rubber. Rounded on the outside, the inside of the ring was flat, lined with a yellow strip of a putty like material. There was a thickened area of the ring, about an inch long, with two pairs of dots, two yellow, one on either side, and two red, likewise.

Moving carefully, she lowered herself enough to hook the ring under the 'sleeve' extension on the support, then stretched it up to hook over the shaft where it extended from the crossbeam, while making sure she could reach the thickened part. Once the ring was set, she placed the thumb and forefinger of one hand on the two yellow dots and squeezed until she felt something give, then snatched her hand back. There was a faint sizzling sound, and the yellow band inside the ring began to narrow. At the same time, some of the yellow substance oozed out from under the sides of the ring where it was in contact with the metal shaft.

After two minutes, all the yellow inside the ring had disappeared, and what she could see along the sides of the ring had solidified. "_Adhesion complete, now to see if this stuff is as strong as Wade thinks it is!" _She now squeezed on the red dots, again until she felt something give way, and pulled her hand back. A dark red color began to suffuse the ring, and it began to contract.

JJ held her breath for a moment, then saw the car start to lift. "_Yes!"_ Then she heard Shego's voice in her ear. "JJ, watch out!" And a sudden increase in the buffeting caused her to lose her grip on the bracket. She let out a startled, and loud, curse.

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Kim's attention was drawn away from the helicopter as Ron helped a young woman carrying a baby out of the car and onto the ramp, then led her to the hatch. Kim gave the young woman a reassuring smile, hoping her gauntness didn't unnerve the woman. She then heard Zita's voice, and turned to see the her on the view screen.

"Kim! I've got some bad news for you, direct from Doctor Director! She says that venom in your system isn't gone, it's just been suppressed! Another thing, she says the drug you used to treat it can be neutralized by your adrenaline, if it goes above a certain level. Now, if you have an adrenaline surge, it might reactivate the venom, so you have to remain calm, do you hear?"

Kim hesitated before answering. "_Well, getting bombed last night certainly got my adrenaline going, I wonder how much of Doctor Pharm's drug in my system was negated?"_

She hadn't felt any sign of the venom since then, but had no doubts as to the wisdom of Zita's advice. "Okay, Zita, I get it, I'll behave!" She turned to see that the young mother had heard the whole conversation, and again tried her best smile. "We'll get your family down safely, and all the others, too." She said reassuringly.

Then she heard JJ's curse over her headset.

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Shego had managed to get her ring in place and activate it with no problem, before turning her attention to the helicopter coming too low. It was from Channel 6, she saw, and was obviously trying to get a clear shot of her, up under the supports. She was tempted to fire a warning blast across the chopper's bow, but quickly suppressed that impulse. She keyed her microphone, "JJ, Watch out!" Then she saw the girl lose her grip, and fall halfway off the bracket, before catching herself. "Dammit! What kind of idiot is flying that thing!" The noise from the helicopter was echoing off the supports around her, leaving her practically deaf.

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When Beth Reeder landed on the bracket above the car she was assigned to, she briefly heard voices coming from inside. First, a woman's voice,"Honey, please stop moving around, be a good girl!" The reply came from a young child, "But Johnny is on top of my leg, and it hurts!" Any further conversation was drowned out as the helicopter came closer, and Beth concentrated on getting her ring in place. When she heard JJ curse, she had just activated the red buttons, but her attention went immediately to the car JJ was on.

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Kim hadn't recognize the voice that cursed, and she checked Belle first, who was waiting for her car to be evacuated before activating her ring. Belle was all right, so Kim next checked Beth, stepping out onto the ramp to do so. And saw the door to the car she was on top of pop open suddenly. Two feet appeared, and two flip-flops fell away from them, falling towards the ground below. Even as the legs of the little girl slid into view, Kim's right arm was raising, aiming for the tower support above the car. Ron, helping a five-year old boy towards the hatch, barely had time to shout, "Kim!", before she fired the grapple, and dived forward off the ramp.

Kim didn't know how much instinct, and how much judgment, contributed to her timing. Or for that matter, her shot with the grapple, which lodged itself securely in the tower support. Of course, she was willing to admit that sheer dumb luck might factor in, as she swung towards the little girl, who was now completely out of the car, scrabbling to hang on. Kim was going to swing well below her, and the girl wondered if she had misjudged badly, but just then the girl lost her grip and fell.

The design of the wrist mounted grapple was intended to let the user easily get a grip on the line with a twist of the wrist, and Kim did so, while reaching for the girl with her left hand. She mentally reduced the effects of gravity through the vest just as she made contact, trying to reduce the jolt on her arms she was about to suffer. She caught hold of the little girl's left forearm, and gripped as hard as she could. "I've got you!" Her breath hissed out between her teeth as she took the girl's weight, but she held on, still swinging past the car. She felt the little girl grab hold of her wrist with her free hand, just as they began to swing back, much slower this time, and begin to come to a halt. Kim was trying to remember how to retract the grapple one-handed when the pain hit.

Ron looked on in shock as Kim swung away, which turned to joy when he saw her catch the little girl. "Booyah!" He shouted, then hurriedly took the little boy into the ship. Coming back out, though, his heart nearly stopped when he saw Kim. He couldn't hear her, but he knew she was screaming.

Beth didn't hear her either, mainly because her left hand was pressed over her ear, so she could better hear what was being said over the comms. And both Belle and Shego had their eyes on JJ, as she struggled to get back up onto the bracket, while keeping her weight off the car roof. At least the helicopter was backing away now.

Ron dashed to the end of the ramp. Only the father and a six-year old boy were left in the car, and they were emerging. "We have to hurry! I've got to save Kim!" Ron shouted as he helped the two onto the ramp, and hurried them towards the hatch. "_Belle will be safe where she is!"_ As he practically shoved the father and son into the hatch, he shouted, "T-Girl! Get us as close to Kim as you can, right now!" It occurred to him that he was missing something, but he squelched that thought, as he grabbed a coil of rope from a locker. "And swing the starboard boom out!"

It was amazing how many muscles were involved in simply gripping something, and all of these in Kim's body were on fire, the pain running up her arm and into her chest, as if to grab her heart and crush it. She'd let go of the line with her right hand when the pain hit, and couldn't grab it again without making things worse, so she tried to hang limp, and tried to keep her grip on the little girl's arm. She sobbed aloud, then was shocked when she felt the little girl prying at her fingers. "What..are you...doing?" she managed to say.

"I'm hurting you! Let me go, and I'll catch your foot and hang on!" Kim was surprised at how steady the little girl's voice was, under the circumstances. "_She should be scared out of her wits! I would...well, maybe I wouldn't have been, at that!"_

She gasped out the words, "No, Sweetheart! This only hurts me...now, but if you fall, it...will hurt me...forever!" The fingers stopped prying at her grip. "Really?" came the voice again. "Yes! Just hang on, my...friends will save us!" Kim tried to reassure her.

"Are you sure you don't want to use the cable, Ron?" T-Girl asked. "No, the rope's more flexible!" Ron was tying off the rope to the pulley. Done, he told T-Girl to run it out to the end of the boom. Trying to measure distances by eye alone, he dropped the slack off the end of the ramp, then backed himself up to the edge of the hatch, facing a point about midway along the leading edge of the ramp.

"Ron, are you going to do what I think you are?" Rufus asked, fidgeting in frustration.

"Yep, little buddy, I think I am. T-Girl, swing a little more to the left!"

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On the ground below, Kim's rescue attempt had been plainly visible. The light from the setting sun had made color identification difficult, but just the way the rescue was attempted caused many to correctly guess who was involved. But now, they saw her hanging limp, and wondered whether the little girl was hanging on all on her own. "Did she hit the support? I couldn't see!" One reporter asked her cameraman. "Bigger question is, what's she doing here?" he responded.

They watched the aircraft maneuvering closer, but it clearly had no room to get to Kim and the little girl. In fact, it's maneuvering was hard to understand, appearing to back into position with it's tail towards the girls. Then their breath caught in their throats as they saw someone leap off the ramp, but in the opposite direction! They were too far to see a faint blue light glow along the figure's legs, but they did notice the prodigious distance of the leap, before the figure reached the end of the rope it was holding, and began to swing back. They saw whoever it was get their body under control, and manage to adjust his swing towards the hanging pair.

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"_Can't drop her, no matter what! You've hurt worse, Possible! Hold o...God! It's getting worse! Can't drop..." _Kim tried her best to focus on her improvised mantra.

"KIM! I've got her, let go...NOW!" One of the few voices in the world that could get her to do just that under these circumstances came to her ears, and as she felt a tug on the girl, she let go. Then the little girl shrieked, and fear shot through her. "_Did I imagine Ron's voice!" _She snapped her head around, and her vision went white as agony shot through her neck and into her head. She couldn't stop her left arm from reaching for the back of her neck, and more pain raced through her. And her brain did the only sensible thing it could in the circumstances, it shut down.

Swinging away, his left arm wrapped around the little girl, Ron realized his mistakes. For one, there was no way for T-Girl to winch him up, and as strong as Rufus was now, he still couldn't do it himself. He realized where he had made his first mistake when Belle's voice rang in his ear. "Beth! Kim's in trouble, right below you!" "_Never thought to ask for help! So determined to save Kim myself!"_ He heard Shego's voice next, "I've got her!" Then he felt Thundagirl descending as fast as she dared, lowering him to the ground.

The problem with the new flight packs was that they didn't get the instant thrust rockets would have provided, and the few seconds it took the fans to spool up seemed to stretch for ages before Shego could dive off her now level car. "_Goddamn chopper jockey! If it wasn't for him..."_ Shego swooped low to come up under Kim, spotting Walt hovering near the girl. As Shego wrapped her arms around Kim's limp body, Walt flew up to the the girl's vambrace, and released the line. Taking the girl's thankfully much reduced weight, Shego climbed straight up enough to see into the car the girl had fallen from. Beth looked down from the roof, and the occupants peered out of the now leveling car, fear on their faces.

"Your little girl's all right! She's safe on the ground!" Shego called to them, then headed to meet an again rising Thundagirl. Ron was on the ramp as she set down, a fearful look on his face.

"Take care of the rest of the rescue, Stoppable! I'll take care of her, don't worry!" Emotions warred on the boy's face, but he nodded. As Shego carried Kim past him into the ship, he began giving orders. "Okay, let's pick up Belle, first, then get the people out of JJ's car, T-Girl! Oh, and if any of those helicopters get too close, feel free to be a bully, 'kay?"

"Oh, yes! Those orders I can live with!" The sentient ship declared in reply.

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The rest of the rescue was anti-climactic. After removing the passengers from JJ's car, they convinced the park officials to move the cars enough to remove those in the other two damaged cars, after which the ride was able to run normally, allowing the remaining trapped people to disembark at the Ride's two stations.

Thundagirl descended onto the top of Porter's Hill to disembark the people Team Possible had rescued, receiving applause from many of the police and rescue personnel. The press managed to surge partway up the hill, complaining that with no remaining danger, they shouldn't be restrained at all.

A grizzled Fire Captain spoke to Ron as the people exited the ship. "Was that Kim Possible up there? I thought she'd been kidnapped or something!"

"She was! We were supposed to be taking her to a hospital, when we heard about this! And once she heard about it, she insisted we help! She wasn't supposed to exert herself, now we have to get her to the hospital!" Ron answered back. Neither he or the captain saw their words being recorded by a security guard with a web-capable portable camera.

"We've got a damn fine hospital less then two miles from here, why not take her there?"

"We've got a specialist waiting for us at Upperton General, have to go there!" That answer made sense to the Captain, who nodded, "Tell her she has our prayers, will you?"

"I will! Bye, Captain, need to get gone before someone decides we need to fill out any paperwork!" Ron dashed back into T-Girl**,** the hatch closing behind him.

Inside, Shego and Belle were settling Kim once again into one of the transit beds in the back, when the girl regained consciousness. "Wha...Owww!"

"Calm down, Possible! We're going to get you back down to my place, and get more of that damn drug in you, you're going to be all right!" Shego stated.

"Nuh...No! No more...ahhh. Get Mom, A...Amy, then Up...Upperton!"

"We are not arguing about this!"

Ron dashed into the compartment, averting his eyes from Kim's nude form, and ducked into his tube. "KP, I'm sorry, I should have told the others you were in trouble, instead of just trying to do it all myself!"

Shego pressed a finger against Kim's lips to keep her from responding. "Stoppable, I believe I am channeling the spirit of Kimberley Anne Possible when I say, 'No Big, Ron, it was force of habit, you'll learn!'" Kim's eyes widened, and her lips quirked into a grin. Shego began to shuck her outfit, grinning back at the recumbent girl as she stepped into her tube. "All aboard, T-Girl?"

"Just a moment, Saul is chasing Roy aboard! Okay, all aboard, we're off!"

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Everett Deal had finally shoved his way to the top of the hill, and broke into the clear waving his hands at the other law enforcement officers already there. "Stop that ship! I want an explanation of what they thought they were doing, and I..." then with a sudden inrush of air, T-Girl vanished, leaving a crowd of bemused faces behind. "What?"

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Watching the webcast, Betty Director groaned. "Couldn't you have kept _some_ things a secret, guys?"

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"And among the biggest mysteries about this terrorist attack is the presence of Kim Possible, who has been missing for more then two weeks, and now appears to have not been the victim of an enemy's attack..." A female voice interrupted the reporter's, "You're wrong!" several of the press turned to see the young mother who had been the first rescued standing there, still holding her baby, surrounded by her family, with an escort of FBI agents. "She has some kind of poison in her, and she wasn't supposed to help with the rescue, because that would set it off! But she did, and she was unconscious when that other woman got her back aboard!"

The FBI agents kept the press back, hustling the family and the other rescued people away to be interviewed. Another voice attracted some of their attention, however. "You mean, she wasn't healthy? What if she had dropped that little girl?" The well-dressed man sounded indignant.

A fairly hefty female security guard was the first to react. "Now, sir, that's a real good question," The man nodded righteously, "But I have a better one, what if she hadn't _caught _that little girl?"

A shocked look appeared on the man's face, and then he reddened. "Well, one of the others could have..." he trailed off lamely.

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"Doctor Director, the FBI got the man in the Motel. He's a mercenary, according to a preliminary inquiry. Have to find out if he has any particular connections to November 22nd." Agent Harp reported.

"Ma'am? We have a call from the CEC, wanting to know what Thundagirl was doing on international TV?" This came from Core.

Betty managed to keep her face expressionless. "_That_ one, I'll take in my office. Meanwhile, find out if anyone's doing anything about that idiot General running November 22nd!"

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The 'Idiot General' was throwing a tantrum at his well-appointed hideout in the Philippines, pacing back and force in front of his desk, besides which stood his two most trusted bodyguards. Behind them, wind generated by an approaching storm stirred the curtains concealing double glass doors leading onto a well kept veranda.

"I want Kim Possible, and all the members of her family, killed, as soon as possible!" His aide nodded, writing in his notebook. "If you can identify any other members of her 'team', the same is to be done to them, and all the members of their families, no exceptions!"

"Of course, Excellency!" the Aide responded. "_And I know just who to hire for this! About time this fool started actually acting like a terrorist, after all the aid we have given him! Murdering America's teen heroine, and her family, will be just the right means to draw the vengeance of the United States onto him, and away from more important assets!" _But as he raised his eyes to look at the pacing man, his face froze in shock. The bodyguards saw the look, and spun about, which attracted the General's attention. He looked up and froze as well.

Six people had slipped in through the veranda doors and stood lined up against the wall, weapons in their hands. The two center ones were obviously female, and the taller one leveled an assault rifle at the General, and began to speak, "General, I am asking you to surrender on behalf of..."

"NO! How did you find me so quickly? NEVER!" And the general snatched a pistol off his desktop, as his bodyguards tried to bring their own weapons up, and the Aide threw himself down behind a table he overturned. As the room exploded in gunfire, he cursed. "_Ah, but I can make a deal, and be free to find another fool to set up as the next 'great terrorist threat' for the Americans to hunt, and..."_ At which point, two more guards burst into the room and were promptly riddled, but one's finger tightened on the trigger as he fell, firing a burst right into the aide.

When the shooting ended, Jen Paladin looked at one of the men in their party. "Find him so quickly? What did he mean, you said you'd been looking for him for nearly a year?" None of them had yet heard of the incident at SmartyWorld.

The man shrugged, "No idea! By the way, thanks again for coming along, and smoothing things with the Filipinos! How long did they give us to disappear, before they arrived to seal the place off?"

"Thirty minutes from the first shots fired, so we had better get moving! And it wasn't a problem, I needed to take on something human again!" the man gave the female merc an odd look, but didn't ask questions.

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The first thing Kim noticed when they came out of the jump was the lack of pain. She flexed her fingers experimentally. "_Jump must have reset it, or whatever, somehow!"_

"Don't get dressed, anyone!" She called out, "As soon as Mom's aboard with Amy, we're jumping to Upperton!"

Several voices, including T-Girl's, answered her at once, but Shego seized the stage by storming out of her tube in just her briefs. "Are you nuts, Possible! We have to do something about that crap in your body! Wait a minute! Doesn't it hurt now?" Thundagirl had apparently arrived just above the house, because as Shego said this, they all felt her touch down, and heard the ramp lowering.

"No, the jump must have switched it off again. Which means, if I behave myself, it won't reactivate. I don't want to enter your home again as an invalid, or patient, whichever, Shego! I can't go into hiding again, even for a day, after what just happened! This will be so much more convincing, if they don't think I staged it!"

"I don't care about convincing anyone! That's no reason for you to suffer!" Shego retorted hotly.

Anne Possible entered, Amy in her arms. She had watched the Television coverage with Eliana Chosa at her side, holding each others' hands tightly when they saw Kim hanging limply after Ron rescued the little girl. "What do you mean, suffer? What exactly happened?" Kim recounted what Zita had told her. "Kim, maybe we should..."

"No, Mom! I want to go home, I want to see Dad, and the Tweebs, believe it or not!" Kim looked at Shego. "If you're not coming, too, you'd better get your clothes, and get off." Kim winced inside at the brusqueness of her own words.

Shego's face went still. "Fine!" she spoke curtly, turning to go back into her tube. She gathered her clothes in her arms, and started to storm out, when Kim called, "Shego!" Shego hesitated, then started to leave again. "Ana! Please?" She stopped again, then turned back, to see the girl half sitting up, tears in her eyes. Still glowering, Shego walked back to the bed.

"Kiss Milly for me, and tell her I love her, too, please?" Kim almost pleaded.

Shego's anger melted. "Of course I will!" She looked to where Doctor Possible had unwrapped Amy, and set her down in her tube. Stepping over, she looked down at the little girl, who kicked and fussed a little. Shego leaned over and kissed the baby on the forehead. "I love you, Amy Possible, be a good little good for your Mommy, okay?" When Shego turned, Anne was out of sight. She turned to Kim, who had laid back down. Bending swiftly, Shego kissed the girl on the forehead, then turned and hurried from the compartment, and out of the ship, pausing only to call, "Safe trip, Guys!", before she exited.

Eliana Chosa, with Milly in her arms, and Agent Flores were waiting for her. Shego turned back towards T-Girl, thinking to perhaps rush Milly aboard to see Kim, but the hatch was already closing, so she decided against it. Turning back towards the welcoming committee, she saw Eliana roll her eyes, and only then realized what a view she'd given Agent Flores.

She smirked at the Agent, keeping her bundle of clothes high. "Still here?" The agent made a slight bow to her, and held out a folded paper. "Message for you, from..." He broke off as T-Girl left. "Um, from Doctor Director! Goodnight, ladies!" He repeated his bow, then turned and climbed into a jeep, starting up, and driving away.

"He is the last of them, Ana! Things are more or less back to normal!" Eliana would have probably clapped her hands together, if they weren't full of baby.

Shego was frowning at the paper in her hands, only half-listening. Then Milly gurgled, and she looked up. "Oh! I'm neglecting someone! My apologies, Froggie!" Somehow, she managed to pass the bundle of clothes to Eliana and take Milly in return, who couldn't help but decide it was feeding time under the circumstances. "Oops! Should have thought of that!" Eliana rolled her eyes again, but smiled at the sight, nonetheless.

As they walked towards the house, Shego's mood soured again. "Can't stay you know, not if I'm on someone's target list. Really shouldn't stay tonight, but...ah, hell! I doubt whoever's after me will be back this soon! But tomorrow, me and Milly are hitting the road!"

"Maybe you could leave the baby here with me, Ana?"

"I'm not even sure _you_ should stay, Eliana! I don't know how these people operate, what they might do to get at me! I'm in the position Kimmie could've been, if she messed with a different class of villain, scared for my loved ones, now _that's_ irony!"

Eliana opened the door for her, a scowl on her face. "No one is chasing me from my home, Ana!"

Shego smiled.. "Yeah, I figured as much. But, you understand why I have to go, don't you?"

Eliana sighed, then nodded, "Yes, I understand! I just hope you find this person, or someone does, and makes it safe for you to return home again!"

Shego sat on the couch, and Eliana insisted on getting her a robe, leaving her alone with her nursing child. It was then that she carefully managed to unfold and read the note Flores had given her. "Well, well, well, Frog! Things are getting interesting!" Then a thought hit her, "Oh! I'd better not forget this! Mommy Kim said to give you this," She kissed Milly on the forehead, "And to tell you that she loves you, not that you should ever doubt that!" She settled herself more comfortably. "_Doy! What a difference from a couple of months ago! I hope things slow down a little, or I'll have gray hairs before I get mine grown back the way I like it!"_

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The crowd of reporters and cameramen outside Upperton General Hospital had been through a lot. Responding to a mere rumor that the mystery of Kim Possible's disappearance would be solved tonight had led to a wait through an off and on drizzle, then the disgust of believing their wait had been in vain when the news had come from SmartyWorld. But those who had left had gotten the word to turn around and get back quickly after the webcast of Ron's conversation with the Fire Captain.

Wade had been careful in his rumor spreading to make it clear Kim wouldn't be entering the hospital through either the main or Emergency entrances, to avoid the press obstructing those. Then again, he had only fed rumors to three or four targets, yet close to two dozen representatives of the Press were now assembled.

Some had been inside the hospital, to be sure, and at least one had seem James Possible and recognized him, but hospital security had kept the reporter at a distance, and he had eventually gone outside to join the main throng.

It was a little after eight-thirty when they heard a low rumble above them. Not having heard anything to connect such a noise with Team Possible's arrival, however, it wasn't until they saw Thundagirl's navigation lights descending from the clouds that they realized the moment was at hand. Some had already received instructions to try and get a look inside the ship, but only after getting shots of Kim, herself.

Before T-Girl had even set down, two orderlies pushing a gurney had exited the hospital and pushed through the crowd, accompanied by three security men. These were joined by five Upperton Police Department officers, who formed a cordon to keep the reporters back from Thundagirl**. **Standing well back, four Global Justice agents in plain clothes observed the crowd.

Inside Thundagirl**, **Kim reluctantly dressed in the short pants and T-shirt she had worn when boarding the ship at Shego's house, on the way to SmartyWorld. There was no point now in dressing in the set of clothes her Mother had brought from Middleton with her, for Kim to wear at her homecoming, or the set she'd worn when she'd first arrived at Shego's, what seemed ages ago.

"We'll stay with the ship, until Ron gets back aboard, Kim." Belle told her.

"And I'll carry Amy, honey, there's no point in letting the press guess the truth before you make it official." Her mother added.

Kim nodded absently in response, feeling the weight of her own decisions pressing down on her. "_For better or for worse, I have to go through with this, quickly, or I'll just pack Amy up and go hide at Shego's! And it would be for the wrong reason!"_

As the ship touched down, the press crowded as close to it as possible. A number of other curious people approached, as well.

"Kim, Ben has found something odd, one of the 'camera' people is actually wielding some kind of multi-purpose scanner!" Thundagirl announced.

Kim sighed. "_Might not be a hostile party, but..." _"If he can disable it without permanently wrecking it, have him do so, Please and Thank You!"

"There are also four armed persons not in uniform, but they all have Global Justice ID on them."

Kim nodded tiredly, and looked around. " Oh, get a picture of the face of the guy with that scanner, we can send it to Global. Now, everyone decent? Okay, let's get this over with!"

As the ramp touched the ground, the orderlies hesitantly pushed their gurney up the ramp, and were directed to the rear compartment by JJ. They loaded Kim on the gurney, but at her request did not secure her, and rolled her back out of the ship and across the parking lot. The bright lights and flashes going off contrived to accent Kim's gauntness nicely, and she kept her eyes shut as they passed through the crowd. Hardly anyone paid attention to her Mother or Ron as they followed the gurney, the police and security officers sweeping a clear path to the doors.

As they passed inside, the Press stopping at the doors, Kim opened her eyes and looked down the hall, and saw her father. She immediately began to sit up. "Kim, hold still, you might start something going again!" Ron called.

"No, I need this, I really do!" Kim cried out, swinging her legs off the gurney while it was still in motion. Her feet never hit the floor however, as Doctor James Possible caught his daughter up in a hug, which she returned as she burst into tears.

"Daddy..."

"Kimmie-Cub..."

When after a few moments, all the wear and tear of the last few days finally caught up to Kim, and she went limp, her father picked her up gently and laid her back on the gurney, ignoring the camera lights and flashes, and pulled the blanket over her, walking besides her as they headed deeper into the hospital. Anne had slipped past with the baby while all attention was on the father-daughter reunion.

T-Girl closed her hatch as soon as the gurney was clear. Thirty minutes later, she lifted and flew a short distance to set down outside the employees' entrance, and Ron ran out to board her.

"You call your parents?" Rufus asked.

"Yeah, told them I had two more stops to make, and then I'd be home. Dad says he proud of me, Mom just cried a little." He pulled himself from his melancholy. "Well, let's go! Back to Japan, and put the Lotus Blade back where it belongs, then Minnesota, then it's home for us, right, buddy?"

"And I will be very glad to be there! Oh, we might consider dismantling my tube system? Not much use to me, right now!"

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Please, Read and Review.


	21. Conversations good and bad

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, and other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

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"**Excuse me, you must be new arrivals? My name is Steven Barkin, Vice-principal of this institution of 'higher' learning, and may I ask, what the devil is going on here?!" Charley and her friends turned to be confronted by a familiar...face.** "_That's the human the Ar'Ithane in the 'classroom' impersonated! Wait a minute, how is this working?"_"**Um, how do you mean, Sir?"** "_And that's my voice!"_

"**Well, at least you're polite! I was referring to these metal skulls floating around you, are these some sort of fad?"** "_I Know this place, but I've never been here! It's called Middleton High School."_**They were standing in the hallway, students flowing past them, looking at papers in their hands, checking room numbers. _First day of the school year._**

**Charley heard herself reply, "No Sir, these are all mine. They're remote video sensors."**

**Mister Barkin's brow furrowed, "Well, whatever they are, they have no place here, Miss..."**

"**Cob, Sir, with one 'b'. And I have a case to make for keeping them around, if I may?" Barkin didn't reply, but nodded. "The truth is, thanks to an experimental procedure, I can see through these 'skulls'. I can see everything they can, and since that gives me opportunities to do unethical things, I think it's best if I keep them in plain sight at all times, at least in sight of the faculty members, so you won't suspect me of cheating by using them to spy or anything."** "_Okay, this is an odd approach for me, but then again, how am I offering commentary on my own dream?"_

**Barkin's face screwed up comically as he worked through Charley's argument. "I see! Well, providing you can prove your claim, I might see fit to make an exception to the rule against...against unauthorized decoration of self!" He looked up at the clock. "However, there's no time now, you had better all find your homeroom, First Bell is in ten minutes! It would ill behoove you to be late on your first day at a new school!" "**_In my case, my first school!"_

"**Yes, Sir!" As Barkin marched off, the four girls started up the hall. Almost immediately, a familiar voice rang through the hall. "Man, this Tanks! Having to repeat Senior year is so massively unfair!"** "_Ron? But, somehow, I'm not recognizing him? Hard to tell_ _, looking through my own eyes, but I can 'feel' it!"_ **Neither JJ, or either Reeder sister, showed more than curiosity.**

"**I'm Sorry, Ron!" "**_Kim, obviously, but again, no recognition?"_

**Ron's head snapped around to look at the redhead besides him. "No! I didn't mean to say...It's not your fault, KP!"**

"**Of course it is! If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't have gone on that mission, we wouldn't have been hurt, we wouldn't have missed so much school that we failed! There's no way this isn't my fault!"** "_Hurt on a mission? Don't remember any reports of serious injuries in the GJ Database. Okay, how am I analyzing this, or better yet, why?"** "**_**We're a year behind our class, all because I took a mission I shouldn't have!"** "_Shouldn't have? When?"_

**Charley and the other girls were passing by the couple, and Ron suddenly spotted the skulls. His eyes popped wide, and he elbowed Kim in the ribs. The girl looked up and had the same reaction. "Weird! What kind of classmates do we have this year, KP?"** "_Kim's got a scar on her left cheek, and another showing under her collarbone. Ron's got one across his chin, as well." _**"Hi! The name's Ron Stoppable, and who might you ladies be?"** "_Thought him and Kim were an item, or is that just in the stories? Whichever, he certainly is giving Belle and Beth a look their father probably wouldn't have appreciated!"_

"**Charley Cob, and these are my friends, JJ, Belle, and Beth! Pleased to meet you! But, we'd better get moving, we need to find our homeroom before the bell rings, right?"** "_Well, I'm not paying full attention to him, definitely something running in my head besides homeroom! So, if I can 'feel' my e motions, why can't I 'hear' my thoughts?"_

"**Aw, we've got plenty of...Oh, No, we don't! Come on, KP, we need to find our homeroom, fast!" He started tugging Kim down the hall, but she tugged back.**

"**RON! After four years here, can't you remember the numbering order? We need to go _that _way!" Kim turned to Charley and company and smiled. "Kim Possible, nice to meet you, sorry to rush off, but..."** "_Some of those teeth aren't her original equipment, I think she might have had her jaw rebuilt, there are very faint scars, which the 'me' in the dream is probably studying through the boys' eyes, but I can't really tell, only getting the input through 'my' eyes."_

"**Aw, KP! A couple of hot twins, and I have to rush off! Oops, do you think they heard me?"**

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And Charley Cob woke up, in the GJ Infirmary, to find a nurse staring at her. "Something wrong?" Charley asked her.

The nurse smiled hesitantly. "No, it's just...you seemed to be dreaming, but...you're eyes kept opening and closing, without you actually waking up!"

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Ron Stoppable opened his eyes and shook his head. "Man! That was one weird dream! Taking Senior year over? Ewwww!" He was lying in a sleeping bag on Thundagirl's deck.

The three girls were lined up alongside him, with Rufus on the other side of them. "_Man! I hope this pans out, coming back here to Thailand! If we can find one of those bugs that stung Kim, maybe we can find out how to make sure she's cured, I sure don't trust the Rani!" _

He heard a noise and turned to see Belle Reeder propping herself up on one elbow. The girl looked at him, half awake, then said with a faint smirk, "Hot Twins, Ron?"

Ron's jaw practically hit the deck...

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"Morning, Sweetheart!" Anne Possible entered her daughter's hospital room with a big smile on her face. "Should I even ask how you're feeling?"

Kim's return smile was a little weak. "If pincushion wasn't such a cliché..." Kim had just finished up her breakfast, and set her tray aside as her mother came over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Several data leads disappeared under her hospital gown, and she was truly tired of having an IV hub on one hand or the other. "I think they let me get an hour's sleep between blood donations, and everything else they wanted from me. Did you get any sleep, you look a little tired."

Anne pulled a chair close to the bed. "Not much, and neither did poor Amy! I stayed with her all through her physical examination, like I promised you I would. She'll be in as soon as she gets out of the bath." Kim's face fell. "I wish I could've..."

Anne nodded, "I know, Sweetheart, you want to do it all for her, you don't want to share those experiences with anyone else, except...well, there you just had to be different! I was going to say the father, but...I believe awkweird is the word I'm looking for?"

Kim grinned, "That _is_ the word! I keep wishing that her life would be normal, or as normal as possible...but, she's a Possible! I guess weirdness comes with the bloodline!"

Her mother rolled her eyes, "Oh, Yes! No such thing as a normal life for us!" She pulled a chair up and sat down, taking Kim's hand and looking her daughter in the eyes. "Sweetheart, are you sure you want to go through with this press conference today? I'm not trying to discourage you from holding it, but why so soon?"

Kim sighed, "It was more or less Charley's idea, but I sort of agree with her, my appearance will give my story more authenticity, it's going to be hard enough to not outright lie to all those people, trying to protect people, and secrets! Also, I want to get this all out in the open, before too many rumors and stories pop up that people will want to believe rather then the truth!" She looked up at the Television set mounted on the opposite wall. "I've been afraid to turn that on, afraid to hear what they're saying about me, what they're speculating about."

Anne grimaced, "Well, it's not all good, the bits I've heard. I mean, a lot about yesterday's rescue, of course, they're wondering who the girls are, where you got Thundagirl, that sort of thing. Lots of compliments on your courage, but...also questions, are you getting more young women involved in your lifestyle, after all that's happened to you lately! How much of a toll is all this taking on your body, and your mind? Of course, that's a question I'd like to know the answer to, as well."

Kim flopped back on her pillows, and looked up at the ceiling. "Well, this has certainly been 'Big', one long stretch of bad road, as Ron would probably say! And it has taken a toll, I just don't know how much, yet! But, I'm going to get it all back, whatever I lost!" Kim snorted, "Well, the physical part, anyway! Some things you can never get back, I know. I'll have to decide what to do about college, and I don't have that much time to make that decision, anymore!"

"You could take a year off, before starting, you know."

Kim shook her head, "I'm not the first single mother to go to college with a baby in tow, Mom! I can make it work, I just have to decide what else I can do! Team Possible, I have to cut back there, at least my participation. So maybe having those other girls isn't so bad, if they can do missions." The lack of conviction in her voice didn't fail to register with her mother.

"Let others go on missions while you stay home? You honestly think you'll be able to live with that, Kim?"

Kim made a face, "I may have to, Mom! One of the prices of growing up, isn't it? Having to give up some things you love, for your responsibilities?"

"Yes, it is, but sometimes you replace those things you love with other things you come to love as much, if you're lucky!" At that point the door opened to admit a nurse carrying Amy. "And here may be a case in point!" Anne finished with a wide smile.

Kim pushed herself up into a sitting position as the nurse handed Amy to her. Despite the handling, the little girl was sleeping soundly. "Looks like you should have some peace and quiet for a bit, we sort of wore her out, sorry!" the nurse said, apologetically.

Kim didn't take her eyes off her daughter's sleeping face as she answered softly, "No Big, just having her here is enough for me!"

"Well, expect her to wake up hungry, if you need any help untangling yourself to feed her, just buzz, okay?" Kim just nodded in response, and the nurse slipped out.

Anne waited for a couple of minutes, before breaking the mood. "I hear you had some nightmares last night?"

Kim frowned, "A couple. Funny thing is, I didn't have any at all when that drug was running through my system, or at least none that I can remember having! Only good thing about it, other then curing me...except it didn't, did it? She cut it out of me, just when the medicine was starting to work. Of course, that means I could always have taken that option!"

Her mother shook her head, "I don't know how 'she' did it, but from what I understand, that wouldn't have guaranteed getting all of it, Kim! If we had made a proper study of what you were afflicted with, rather then relying only on those notes of Doctor Pharm's, We'd know better if it would have worked!" She smiled wryly, "It would also be useful to figure out how you regenerated so much tissue so quickly, but telling people about this 'healing power' you share with Shego would lead to all sort of complications! Never mind, we're getting off topic, what were these nightmares about, or can you remember?"

Kim made a sour face. "Too well! The first was weird, I was the target for a knife-thrower, the circus kind? I was tied to one of those spinning wheels, while...Armand Macheles threw knives at me. There was someone else there, handing him the knives, and Shego, dressed as a clown! Weirder still, I was wearing my old mission outfit!"

"The second one was...when the Rani interrogated me. Except, I was dressed in the cheerleader outfit I first wore at Middleton, the old, conservative one? And I couldn't understand any of the questions she was asking me! And Shego was sitting in a playpen in the corner, with the girls. And someone I couldn't see spiked a volleyball off Shego's head." She broke off and looked at her mother, who looked slightly dazed. "You asked!"

Anne blinked, then shook her head. "Yes, I guess I did! But, what made you wake up, screaming?" When Kim looked away, she frowned, "What aren't you telling me?"

"Mom...um, I turned into a little girl again, in both of them, and in the first, I wasn't tied to the wheel anymore, I was...you know!" Anne paled, but nodded, "And in the second, two of the Rani's big monsters started having a tug-of-war with me, and..." Kim grew pale, too, and swallowed hard. As if sensing her mother's distress, Amy opened her eyes and began to fuss, drawing Kim's attention, and banishing her bad memories. "Oh! Good Morning, my good girl! I'm so glad to see you awake, did you miss me last night? Did Grandma take good care of you?" Kim's smile widened when she caught the slight start from her mother when the word 'Grandma' came up.

Amy responded to the smile with one of her own, but it didn't last long. "Oh, Dear, I guess the nurse was right, you're hungry! Can you give me a hand, Mom?"

"Sure, Sweetheart! Hmm, this is a lot of wires, is all this strictly medical, or a new form of surveillance?"

"I think they have a separate monitor covering every one of my vital organs, and a line to match! Careful with that one! Pretty sure Wade isn't plugged in here anywhere! Then again, he's surprised me before! Oh, by the way, after those nightmares, I had one weird dream!"

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"To tell you the truth, Shego, you don't surprise me at all telling me that thing was non-terrestrial technology!" Jack Hench sat with Shego in one of the reception rooms at Henchco, having decided on a more comfortable place then his own office to meet the thief. "The rest of this information is interesting, however!" He was studying Shego as intently as he could without giving offense, noting some changes in the woman's measurements, and a new youthfulness in her face. "_Shego doing plastic surgery? That makes no sense, she likes looking older, and harder."_ The short haircut was also odd, considering Jack knew a couple of people who had learned to their cost the price for messing with the long black locks that had previously flowed down her back. "_No chance she's losing her vanity!" _As to the loss of her green skin, Jack was still ignorant. Shego had visited him in disguise before.

"Didn't tell you just to 'interest' you, Jack! It's more of a warning, actually, I have reason to believe the guys behind it don't like people knowing their secrets, or using them for their own purposes!" Shego was perfectly aware of Jack's assessing her, and was pretty much correct in guessing what he was thinking. "_Can make points by telling him some of the truth, since Kimmie's going to blow the lid off later today, but not sure I'll ever be back here! Still, wouldn't hurt to keep some friendly contacts on the dark side."_

"Well, as to the original device, that's gone! In fact, we only had it for two weeks before someone managed to snatch it right out of one of our clean rooms, a fully secure one!" Shego's look in response was half-impressed, half-wary. "It's true! One tech in the room, he leaves, and the video shows the object vanishing, right off the examination table! Room automatically sealed, gas was pumped in, ultrasound, the works, and nothing! No tricks with the video, either, everything checked as to timing, the works!"

"But, you learned a few things first, and came up with the Attitudinator?"

"Liza...Eliza found out several things, but not the whole package, obviously! Of course, she already had health issues...I miss her, Shego, she was my only female friend, only woman I could tolerate for long outside of bed! Well, except for family members, of course!" He qualified, then returned to topic. "We only knew what the machine did to people, or seemed to do, anyway! We did test it, of course! On volunteers, I swear! Oh, and I didn't mean you yourself are intolerable to me, you understand?"

Shego waved his apology off. "No sweat, Jack, I know what you mean. The problem of course is that you aren't boosting someone's natural potential, you're engaging in behavior modification, so the ethics are a bit different. And you do have ethics, Jack, I know that for a fact!"

"Yeah, Yeah, don't say it so loud, though!" Then he grinned and smacked his hands together. "Let's change the subject! What's happening with you?"

"I've got a daughter. Actually, two!" "_And that's a clear jaw-drop, Jack!"_

"What!? You're kid..." He looked her over, "Okay, that might explain...No! No Way! You were here just two months ago, no way you could have had a kid!"

"Way, Jack! Tell me, you ever hear of a Doctor Elizabeth Reithan?"

Jack's eyes narrowed. "DNAmy's new apprentice, another genetics nut!"

"Amy's dead, Jack." Barely a flicker of shock appeared on the man's face. "Reithan killed her, and fed her to her monsters. Reithan's monsters, that is, she also killed all Amy's 'Cuddlebunnies'. It seems she knew a few things about manipulating time, as well. She impregnated me, and made me go through nine months in just over two days. She also did the same to Kim Possible. In fact, she mixed our DNA together to make the babies." To Shego's surprise, Jack didn't go into shock at receiving all this information.

But it did take him nearly three minutes to sort it all out, and ask the question most important to him. "You kill Reithan, or is she still out there with all that knowledge?"

"I didn't kill her, Jack, but that's only because she had a rather unique means of escaping my notice! So she isn't dead, as far as I know. She's hiding though, because she has attracted a whole lot of attention in certain circles, and by the end of today, she'll have a lot more!"

"I see. Well, don't want to anger you, but she does represent an interesting business opportunity. But, why more attention after today?"

"The story's going public this afternoon. All the regular law enforcement agencies are being brought in on the hunt for her." "_And Kimmie is hanging herself out for target practice!"_

"I see. I wish you had brought this information to me sooner, I would have liked a head start, Shego."

Shego met the stern tone with a look of feigned shock. "Hey! I've only been free for three days, Jack! And I got bombed again, which distracted me slightly!"

Jack's frown deepened. "The mystery bomber? That's twice for you, then, isn't it? Three times for Gemini, or at least WWEE! Think it's personal?"

Shego shook her head. "What about you, Jack? You supply villains, and this nut job seems to be targeting villains, so..."

Jack waved her off. "Not to worry, that bomber gets near any of my plants, it's going down!"

Shego looked doubtful. "It's a stealth bomber, Jack! Or, do you have some inside knowledge that would help you detect it coming?"

"Let's just say I have a system, but it's not portable, okay?"

"You have any idea who stole it? Just yes or no will do, not buying info today."

"No idea at all, and believe me, I'm trying to find out, that bit of knowledge is worth a lot of money to some people!" Jack Hench's frustration clearly showed on his face. "Even Big Daddy Brotherson has com eup dry on the subject!"

That caused Shego's eyebrows to raise slightly. "Well, how about who lost it? Pretty sure I already know, but nice to have confirmation."

"Well, the Air Force, obviously! Specifically, one Major General Edward Lawrence Vincent Dray, the first blot on a distinguished 25 year career. Guy's been involved solely with the Top Secret stuff for the last ten years. His right hand man is a Colonel Mandley, twenty-two years in, very capable guy, been hitched to Dray's star at least the last seven years, maybe longer."

"Well, a perfect record probably means he just found other people to pass the blame to up until now! Was it an inside job? Any sign any of the regular independent contractors were involved?" "_Dray's probably Pentagon based, don't think I want to try sneaking in there!"_

Hench waived his hand, "Sorry, just gave you a chunk of free info, that's all you're getting off the cuff. Seriously, though, if you're out for revenge, you might want to consider hooking up with Fiske, he's hot on that trail, too!"

Shego scowled, "Monty? Not on the best of terms with him! And 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' logic doesn't fit my plans." She smiled at Jack's curious look, "Which I'm keeping strictly to myself for the time being! Oh, one more thing, you heard about any leaks from inside Global Justice? They found out where I lived, and three hours later I was bombed!"

Jack thought for several moments, tapping himself on the knee with two fingers as he considered his answer. "Well, Global Europe lost a man last week during an attempted sting operation, supposedly after some kind of vigilante group tried to recruit him. He told Global's Internal Affairs Division that he didn't think he was the first of their agents to be recruited. They tried to catch the recruiters, but lost the agent, instead."

Shego frowned. "Vigilante groups don't generally steal bombers...and usually only get such recruits because they're frustrated by their own organization's lack of success, at least from their own viewpoint. Global hasn't been _that_ ineffective!"

Jack wagged a finger back and forth, "Ah! But last year, Global Europe, not to mention several intelligence agencies, failed to identify a threat that could have wiped out all mankind, did you know that? If it wasn't for someone passing the 'crazy' scientist off for Kim Possible to handle, we might all be dead right now! And no, I'm not exaggerating, guy really wanted to wipe out humanity, completely!"

Shego just stared at him a moment, trying to decide if she was being kidded. "And Kimmie stopped him? Really, truly, saved the world?"

"And has no idea she did, she didn't take him seriously, either! Flew straight back home to help organize a Bake Sale or something, raising money for new playground equipment for a local Kindergarten or pre-school, something like that."

Shego mused on that for a minute. "_If I found out I'd done something like that, I'd probably never let people hear the end of it! But if Kimmie found out she'd done it, it'd probably retroactively scare the hell out of her, just because she didn't take it seriously at the time!"_ Then she returned her attention to her host. "Change of subject, Jack! I'm getting out of the villain business, if I can. Not going all the way straight, maybe, but I need to worry about my daughter. My contract with Doctor D was voided when I had her, so I have no obligations there. I don't want to lose touch, but I don't want you trusting me this much in future, some joker might try and get me to try and help set you up, or something, as the price for my past being 'erased' or some such nonsense."

Jack Hench's eyebrows rose, and he nodded, "Fair enough! And very grateful for the warning, shows I was right to trust you as much as I did! Sorry to hear you're changing sides, or are you going to try walking that 'thin line between good and evil'?"

Shego shook her head, "No, you try and follow a narrow path, and someone can push you off it too easily! Or block it, and force you to go one way or the other. No, think I will be on the lighter side, Jack, but never expect to see me all goody-goodie, not going to happen!"

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"_People misunderstand we Ar'Ithane with regard to whether we recognize indebtedness. We do recognize debts we owe others, we just do not actively seek ways to repay those debts, but if any opportunity to do so comes to us, we do honor our debts, and repay them to our best ability."_ The memory of those words echoed in Charley Cob's mind as she stared at the ceiling above her hospital bed, her face set in a frown. "_I'm missing something! No, I'm missing several things, several pieces of information! I need to talk to the other girls, I need to talk to UNIT. But I really need to talk to the Doctor!" _She pounded the mattress with her clenched fist in frustration. "_Something is going on! Something __has_ _been going on, from the beginning, and maybe...before? I think we're all being caught between clashing agendas, but whose?"_

Her eyes drifted to the television. Replays of the footage shot the day before were being shown with the banner: "New Team Possible!" Charley watched JJ fly across and land nimbly on the bracket above one car, and Beth skillfully use a grapple to access a second. "_And where did they get so good with those, so fast? Still no answer to my main question, why go to all that trouble, when the boys could teleport the people to safety?" _She shook her head violently, frowning, _"Something is confusing my thoughts about that! The boys were changed...but...just a minute..."_

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"Ack! Oh, Damn, just a normal snake, not a mutant!" Ron muttered, sweeping his wrist mounted light across the interior of the chamber where the Rani had once had her lab. Everything was gone now, down to the last nut and bolt, spirited away by UNIT for analysis and safekeeping.

"You say something, Ron?" Came the voice of one of the twins.

"Nah! Just talking to myself, I do that a lot!" They'd been searching the abandoned lair now for nearly forty minutes, and against all rules regarding the searching of creepy places, they'd split up, using their comms both to talk and allow Wade to scan for 'bugs'. The boys were about, as well, searching narrow places and holes. Except for Walt, who should have been with Kim, and George, likewise with Shego.

"So, Ron, Yamanouchi wasn't exactly like you described in your stories!" A twin again, but he couldn't tell which. They'd stopped off there to return the Lotus Blade earlier.

"Well, Duh! 'Secret Ninja School', right? Not much of a secret, if I put the truth on the 'Net!" "_Not to mention Sensei would probably kill me..."_

"True! I liked 'Yori', though I noticed she looked kinda irritated when you introduced her by that name, I'm sure it's not her real one, either?"

"Of course not! She was irritated because that was just a 'cover' name she had when I first met her, and she'd kinda like to forget the job she was holding then. Used it in my stories to needle her a bit, I guess, but didn't realize how much it had!" Ron shown his light into a narrow crevice, while standing well back from it, lest something spring out.

JJ's voice now came over the link. "I noticed you had a moment of hostility when she mentioned Kim's troubles in Go City, that seemed to be directed at her! You buried it quickly, but it was there, Ron."

Ron closed his eyes briefly and sighed. "Yeah, that was ferociously unfair, but for a moment, I did blame her for me not going with KP on that mission!"

"Why, Ron?"

"It's too long a story...Ah, what the hey! Just before KIm went on that mission, me and my parents headed out to attend a basketball game, my Dad's old Alma Mater versus their arch-rivals. Anyway, Kim came over to babysit Hana, my little sister, have I mentioned her?"

"Four or five...dozen times, Ron!" One of the twins again.

"Oh, heh! Anyway, since we expected to be back late, depending on traffic, Mom told Kim to feel free to sleep in one of the rooms if it got too late. Well, our guest room is too far from Hana's room, and Kim couldn't bring herself to sleep in my parents' room, so she went up to the loft and sacked out on my bed. I think she must have pulled the comforter over her, considering what happened next. Wait a sec, checking something!" Going by Wade's scan, Ron found the switch to open the secret door in the back of the room. Doing so, he moved into the cross-corridor.

After sweeping both ways, he continued his narrative. "Anyway, we got back at about one-thirty. Dad and I were in the back seat, sound asleep, worn out cheering and celebrating, I guess. Maybe Mom wanted Kim to see us like that, because she left the car in the driveway and went inside. She went upstairs quietly, then suddenly heard a big commotion coming from my room in the attic. She went up there, and found KIm and Yori facing each other. Kim was barefoot, and Yori was just...bare."

Incredulous silence reigned for a moment, then four voices at once. "Oh...My...God!...She was naked?!...Way to go, Ron!...Wade? Man! I forgot you were listening!...You mean, she mistook Kim for you, and tried to climb into bed...No! I mean, I don't know!"

"Indeed she was, and Indeed she did!" Came Rufus' voice.

"What! Oh, Man! I forgot, you were there, too, Rufus!"

"I was, and sound asleep, as well! Until Kim screamed as if...well, not important! I woke to see the comforter in midair, though I failed torecognize it until Kim turned on the light! The two were exchanging words when your mother arrived, and I wondered if I would need to get used to a new owner, soon!"

The sounds of Wade's snickering was all that was heard for half a minute, before Ron spoke again. "I woke up in the backseat of the car, to see Mom, Yori, and Kim looking at me as if..." he shuddered, "Well, I was grounded until graduation, including missions, and Kim didn't put up much of an argument! So, that's one reason I wasn't there when she needed me. And maybe why I tried to do everything myself yesterday, rather then call for help, like I should have!"

JJ responded,"You didn't call for help because it's been you and Kim alone for such a long time, Ron, you see saving her as your job. And you expect her to save you in return. Hope you don't mind if we do that occasionally!"

Ron grinned, "Well, I may be able to get used to that!"

"Yeah, why wouldn't he want a pair of 'Hot Twins' to rescue him?" Came from one of the Reeder sisters.

"Huh?" came Wade's voice, "Hot Twins? What are you talking about, now?"

"OH, nothing! Except, we all had the same weird dream, this morning!" Ron replied. "Except, it wasn't a dream at all." The group had had a long, and freaky, discussion regarding the dream.

"Then what was it? All four of us had it, exactly the same, and you said we described your high school perfectly, but we were never in it!" One of the twins, again.

"Actually, all five of us had it." Rufus spoke up, "Though I only have audio memories, I believe I was in Ron's pocket, yet some of the words I heard clearly match your accounts."

"Whoa! You guys aren't pulling my leg, are you?" Wade asked. Before anyone could answer, Wade suddenly became excited, "Guys! I think Roy's found what we need! Head for the TARDIS room, it's hiding in a burrow in the south wall!"

"Booyah! On our way, Wadester!"

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Shego opened her eyes as she felt the commuter flight she was flying on begin to descend. She'd been remembering the strange man with umbrella outside the gallery in Go City on that rainy night. "_He didn't lie, did he? And I don't think he was one of those Ar'Ithane, or whatever! I'm beginning to think someone's playing games I've been caught up in, and they aren't over, yet!" _She double checked her seatbelt, then looked out the window. "_No connection between the bomber and this other stuff that I can see, yet! And with all the things I've seen, coincidence is not really out of the question. But I don't believe this is a coincidence, two attacks where I was on the bullseye, the second time the only villain in their sights!" _

Her thoughts then turned to another subject, Kim Possible. "_Kim's mom hit it right on the nose, I've somehow gotten 'comfortable' with her. Can't actually say when it happened, I really wasn't around her much during her 'treatment', I found excuses to leave that all to Eliana. So, did it all happen in the Rani's lair? Was it all hashed out by our subconscious minds? I've seen and done weirder things, and had them done to me, but the big question is, where does it lead!"_

Nearly thirty trying minutes later, she unlocked her rental car and got in, pulling out her cellphone. "Hi! Back in town, how's my little girl doing?" She listened a moment, then grinned, "Yeah, I know, don't let George bother you, I told him to watch her, and he apparently takes orders very literally." Another pause, "No, I think I'm going to have to ask you to watch her a little longer, I've decided to do something else while I'm in the area. Will that be a problem?...Good! I promise to be there before nine, barring something going completely south on me. Later!"

Starting up the car, Shego maneuvered out of the parking lot and onto the street. "_Long time since I navigated this area on wheels, instead of in a hovercraft! Hope I'm not late!"_

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"So, what are your real feelings about these girls, Kim? They seem to be sincere about joining your team." Anne Possible cradled her granddaughter as Kim dressed for her press conference. A nurse had systematically disconnected Kim from all the monitors, then left after the girl declined help with her clothes.

"I...I have some reservations, Mom. I mean, they may be my age, more or less, but they've done things I've never dreamed of! I mean, they've traveled in space, they've been to other worlds, they've..." she trailed off as if reluctant to give voice to her concern.

So Anne did it for her. "Killed people?"

"No! I mean, yes, they have, and I guess that bothers me! I mean, it should, shouldn't it?"

Anne waited until Kim pulled her top on before replying. "Well, yes, it should, but how much does it bother you?" Kim gave her a indecisive shrug in response. "I don't know why I need to point this out to you, Kim, but there is a difference between a Killer, with a capital 'K', and someone who has killed. Well, maybe I can put that better..."

"No, no, I do get it, they were put in a sitch where they had to do it, or get killed themselves, I don't blame them, I really don't! It's just that, how easy is it for them to do, now? I guess I can't count the Rani's monsters as a true sign, But...when I was trying to hold the ones back in the storeroom, I still couldn't bring myself to think of killing them, as long as Shego and Amy got away! The girls were right in what they did, but I don't know if anything could have made me do the same thing! I want to think I would for Amy's life, or Ron's, but I just don't know!"

"You really can't be sure you can do something like that until you have to, Kim!" her mother responded. Amy stirred in her arms, but remained asleep. Anne smiled at her fondly. "Wake up, fill up, and right back to sleep, just like her mother!"

"Mom!" Kim regarded her daughter while pulling her sandals on. "Really? I was the same?"

"Oh, yes, more often then not! Convenient for the middle of the night feedings, mind you, but..." She was interrupted by the door opening just then to admit another nurse and the hospital's Public Information director, Mister Edson. "Well, well, ladies! Everything is ready for the press conference, and the reporters are gathering!" the thin, balding man announced.

"And I'm just here to complete the information on this young lady's birth certificate, Miss Possible!" Added the nurse.

Kim frowned, "What's missing?"

"Middle name, if she's going to have one?"

"Oh! Well, I think I've decided on Celeste!" Seeing the surprised look on her mother's face, she grinned and shrugged, "I mean, if she was a he, I might make it Ron, for all the times he saved me, hmm, Rhonda? No, I think I'll stick with Celeste!"

"Amy Celeste Possible? All right, I'll put it in the system, um, I was told the 'father' part might be hard to fill in?" The nurse tried to keep her look neutral, but she was clearly curious.

"Not so much hard, as hard to believe! Don't worry, she has another loving parent, and two of the best grandparents a little girl can have!" Anne blushed slightly at the praise. Kim stepped into the bathroom briefly, as the nurse left, to look at herself in the mirror. And winced at the sight. "_Wouldn't take much make-up to make me look half-decent...but that's the point, to look like I've been through an ordeal. And I certainly do, though the cynics can probably claim I just had an eating disorder, and am making this all up to cover for it!" _She grinned at the notion. "_And there would be people willing to believe it! After all I've done, I'm still just another teenage girl to so many people!"_

She emerged from the bathroom and smiled at the PI Director. "I'm ready, lead the way, please and thank you!" The man looked dubious, and her mother quirked an eyebrow, but Kim just stood there patiently, until Mr Edson gave a slight bow, and turned to open the door for her.

"You sure you don't want me there, Kim?" Her mother asked, "You did want to show Amy to the press, before."

Kim shook her head, "No, not while she's sleeping, stay here in case she wakes, I'll be back soon." She stepped back to give Amy a quick peck on the forehead, then followed Edson out, her walk slow, but steady.

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"So, Charley, what's bothering you today, you seem much more...together, I guess, then you were the last time we talked." Doctor Director stood at the foot of the girl's bed, having walked up without drawing Charley attention until she spoke.

"Oh, yes ma'am, I think so, at least enough to start thinking about some things again, remembering things more clearly. I'm sure there is something wrong in how I've interpreted things so far, but I don't have enough information, I need to talk to other people, Shego, the girls, UNIT! I made a mistake giving in to my problems when I did, right in the middle of all this!" The rush of words startled Betty, and the choice of words made her frown.

"Charley, stop it!" the girl started, surprised. "You didn't 'give in', you had nothing left! Trying to continue would have been a mistake, you'd never have been able to function, or figure _anything_ out, in that state!" Betty took a moment to calm herself before continuing. "Now, what do you mean? You don't think this business is over with, now that the Rani's in custody?"

"Not completely, ma'am, no!" Charley explained about the Rani's misadventure with the Emergency Dematerialization Control. "So, she didn't know an instructor's pass code, or she would have been free of it earlier! Now, I no longer have the downloaded knowledge in my head, I only remember those bits I actually told people about. But one of those was, the Trainer TARDIS is meant to be operated by two people, an instructor, and a student. Now, obviously the Rani herself was flying it around solo, so I wondered if I misinterpreted the two person requirement. Then, I got an idea! I thought of the possibility that the Instructors didn't want any students joyriding in the trainers, so they were probably only flyable after an instructor activated them, by entering the same pass code. And if that idea was true, then how did the Rani escape Gallifrey?"

Betty nodded, "Well, if your supposition is correct, then she had to have had a companion, who knew the code. But, there are other possibilities, a different code for each purpose, or the Rani 'hot-wired' the TARDIS in question."

"True, and the Time Lords have been known to make things more complicated then necessary, but why complicate the codes, especially when one use was an emergency measure? And if the Rani 'hot-wired' the TARDIS, then she had to bypass the code mechanism altogether, and wouldn't have had trouble with the EDC at all. But, you might be right, I did say it was just supposition, but I'm convinced the Rani didn't flee Gallifrey alone."

"You're saying there's another Time Lord on the loose, who might be a threat?" The displeasure that caused Betty was abundantly clear on her face.

But Charley shook her head. "No, the Matrix _told_ me there were only two true Time Lords left alive. The Doctor and the Rani are those two, so I have no idea who, or what, the Rani's companion could have been! That's why I have to get in touch with UNIT, maybe they can get a message to him, and ask him to come back and see me!"

"What about Shego and the girls? Why do you need to see them?" Betty asked.

"Generally, I think all of us have pieces to a puzzle, and if we don't get all of them together, we'll never figure things out! And also, I need to ask the girls why they didn't use the boys to teleport all those people to safety, yesterday!" Then she blinked again, a scowl forming on her face.

Betty failed to notice, having let her attention wander. Now she nodded in agreement, "I wondered about that, myself!" She paused to think for a moment. "Okay, I'll try and arrange for you to talk to UNIT. As to the others, I have no control over Shego, and for the moment, the girls, either!" Charley squirmed a little at those words.

"Doctor Director!" one of the GJ Nurses walked over. "Thought you might like to know, Kim Possible's press conference is about to start, want me to put it on this set?"

"Please, I'd like to see how it goes." Betty scowled. "_Try not to put me in a worse situation then I already am, Kim! All the secrets you and those three made public yesterday...well, to be honest, most of those secrets were theirs, more then ours." _Then her attention was drawn to the television, as Kim appeared on it.

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The room was large, and mostly used to teach public classes in CPR and First Aid, _Lamaze,_ and other health topics. There was one exterior door, through which the press had entered, and two interior, both connecting to the same hallway, at either end of the room. A table and chair had been set up, with a cluster of microphones now in place on the former, along with a pitcher of water and a disposable plastic glass.

Chatter among the reporters ceased as Kim entered, and they all studied her. The girl was pale, but seemed to be steady on her feet, though she walked slowly, paying more attention than normal where she stepped. She was neatly dressed, in jeans and a short sleeved top. Her loss of weight was all too obvious, but she had a cheerful expression on her face. Combined with the rest of her look, most of the reporters decided that had to be forced.

Mister Edson and an intern stood at the doorway Kim had entered through, the intern being there to call a halt to the conference if Kim showed signs of distress. For purposes of the conference, Edson had insisted on the most photogenic candidate for the job. The winner was a willowy blond who had made an obvious effort to give off a 'take me seriously' vibe.

Kim reached her seat and sat down, trying hard not to fidget as she studied the crowd. This was her third press conference ever, but the first two had been impromptu, and in one she had shared the spotlight with several others. The big difference, though, was this time she couldn't tell the whole truth, and would have to be careful not to lie outright. She became aware that everyone was waiting for her to begin. "_If the boys could still teleport, I'd have Walt under my chair right now! Oh, stop it, Possible! No running away now!"_

She took a deep breath before speaking. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, thank you very much for coming, and putting up with any inconvenience I may have caused you. My health obviously isn't at it's best, and one problem in particular is being unpredictable as to when it hits me, so I want to apologize in advance if this gets cut short. I know you have a lot of questions, and I hope I can answer them, but let me try and tell you the story, first, and then I'll take questions, Okay?" Some reporters responded with signs of consent, others remained still. "Okay, here we go!"

"This began when I stumbled into something unexpectedly. A woman calling herself Elizabeth Reithan, R, E, I, T, H, A, N; who represented herself as a geneticist, among other things, ingratiated herself with Doctor Amy Hall, also known as DNAmy, pretending she wished to 'apprentice' herself to the doctor. In actuality, she did it to gain access to Doctor Hall's hidden laboratory facilities. She eventually betrayed and imprisoned Amy Hall."

"Amy had a house in Middleton, which she occasionally visited, in defiance of the fact that she was a fugitive from justice. I sometimes made a visit to the house, to see if there was any sign of her presence. "_Now we step on the high wire!"_ "I met Doctor Reithan, but had no reason to be suspicious of her at first. She managed to take me by surprise, and take me prisoner. She took me to Amy's lair, where she...interrogated me, and conducted some experiments...with me as her guinea pig." Some murmurs ran through the crowd. Behind Kim, the intern suddenly started, reached into her pocket, and produced a cellphone. Opening it, she ID'd the caller, then stepped out of the room.

"She also captured Shego, who for her own reasons was trying to help me." More murmuring, a bit louder now. "And decided to conduct another experiment, something that demonstrated a knowledge of considerably more then just genetics. The experiment was to see if physical skills could be passed to a child genetically, and with me and Shego, she had two subjects with impressive skills, if you'll forgive my sounding conceited!" this got a chuckle or two.

"To accomplish this, she...impregnated us." Shock, and interest, appeared in mixed amounts on her audience's faces. "But what I can't explain, is just how she did it, because she accomplished this by mixing my DNA with Shego's to produce the babies, there was no 'male' involved!" Some open disbelief now appeared on some faces. "How she accomplished the skill inheritance part of the experiment is again beyond me, but the next thing she did makes all before it look credible!" That certainly focused their attention.

"In a way even my father can't explain...yet, she managed to accelerate time inside a chamber, causing me and Shego to experience our full pregnancies in just a bit more than two days. She then delivered in an unusual way two healthy baby girls, one from each of us. That was all the use she had for us, and we were dumped back in our cell, where I would have died if not for Shego. She's always been able to heal fast, and somehow during the experiment she gained the ability to heal me, as well. Otherwise, I would have died from internal bleeding, and the aftereffects of the other ordeals Doctor Reithan put me through."

Her audience was stunned for a moment, then many reporters began whispering in their microphones, or scribbling furiously in notebooks. Behind Kim, the intern had vanished completely, but Edson was as absorbed in Kim's account as the reporters, and didn't notice.

"As to why Shego would have wanted to help me, which must be one of your questions, after the events in Go City, a distinct change occurred in her personality. This wasn't an affectation, which I myself suspected. Tests showed a distinct change in her brainwaves, compared to tests taken when she first gained her powers. The explanation for this isn't known yet, and may never be. In any event, and I would be an expert on this, trust me, she has changed significantly in her behavior. Not going to go out on a limb and say she's reformed, but after these events, I'm inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt." "_Just realized I'm talking a little too 'grown-up', not like the other times, hope it doesn't matter!"_

"We did manage one escape attempt, and made common cause with DNAmy to do so, but it failed, and Amy was killed trying to protect the babies from one of Reithan's creations. You see, Doctor Reithan created a large number of monstrosities in the labs, from insects like the one which stung me, the venom from which is apparently still in my system, up to things that could have starred in a Bigfoot movie. Anyway, I have named the baby I bore Amy Possible, after the woman who died protecting her." It would be impossible to list the full range of emotions that announcement generated in her audience.

"We were finally rescued by the combined efforts of my Team Possible teammates, especially Ron Stoppable, and some military personnel, some of whom died in the battle. Also, there were four new members who have asked to join my team. They are not amateurs, though their previous exploits have been classified for very convoluted reasons, to which they have agreed. There was some evidence that Reithan suffered that very clichéd fate, being killed by her own monsters, but subsequently that has been determined to have been false, she's definitely still at large, unfortunately!"

Kim paused to drink some water. "One of our new members was seriously injured in the battle, and we all send our best wishes to her, she hasn't been moved here yet. We all took a beating, but thought we had gotten off lightly, until yesterday. I'm so glad I was able to save that little girl, and all the pain in the world was worth it. The ship we arrived in came with the new girls, but I swear I didn't let them join just because of the cool new ride!" That received some polite laughter in response.

"It's one of a kind, unfortunately, since the inventor of many of it's systems is not with us. It's also sentient, though under the law a licensed pilot has to be aboard in order for her to fly. Hopefully we can do something about that. Well, I think I hit all the highlights, so I guess it's time to take questions!"

Whatever inclination the assembled press might have had to take it easy on the girl had vanished as the list of questions stacking up in their minds grew higher with each revelation.

There were just too many sensational things in her account that had to be questioned, and the honor of asking each specific question first was much sought after. It didn't help that the first simultaneously asked questions came from two reporters who were bitter rivals.

"Miss Possible, you are claiming to have given birth in the last few days, yet you show no signs consistent with that claim, save for your enlarged...um."

"Miss Possible, you thwarted a serious terrorist threat yesterday, yet you have not accounted for how you disarmed the explosives that were seen being removed by the bomb squad..." Both reporters broke off to glare at each other.

Kim tried to field both questions, what she understood of them. "We think that a lingering effect of the accelerated time experience combined with Shego's healing factor to restore our bodies, and the explosives were disarmed by a method we need to keep secret..." Kim hadn't gotten past 'healing', before more questions came at her.

"Miss Possible, how do you feel...these 'monsters' you claim were created...are you validating the claims of the victims of Armand Macheles...whether you have fully recovered from the emotional ordeal...accepting this baby of yours as legitimate...a coincidence that you received some sort of high-tech craft...that your family may now be under threat of death...what military forces assisted your escape...are you in favor of a pardon for Shego, your greatest enemy...claims you were seen at a clinic in California...Miss Possible, will you answer the question?...answer my question...are you avoiding my question...against God and Nature...something your partner would write online...Miss Possible, will you answer?"

Kim managed to utter a few words, partial replies, as her eyes grew wider, and she pulled her hands close to her chest, perspiration beading her forehead. To their credit, some of the press noticed her increasing distress, and fell silent, one or two even nudging the oblivious, those who were so full of themselves and their mission to realize what was going on. Mister Edson suddenly became aware that he was alone, and looked quickly into the hall, spotting the intern talking angrily on her cell, thirty feet down the hall.

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"Someone has to stop that!" Charley practically shouted. Doctor Director nodded, face angry. "_I should have had that conference covered, Dammit!"_

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Anne Possible, Amy in her arms, bolted out of Kim's third floor room and dashed for the elevator. "_I knew they'd do this, I knew it, I should have stopped her, I'm her mother, for God's sake!"_

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Kim was starting to hyperventilate when her view of the crowd was suddenly blocked. Someone knelt across the table from her and seized her hands, locking gazes with her. The sudden intervention caused the reporters' voices to still. Two emerald eyes met Kim's own pair.

"Kim, listen to me! You're all right, it's not _her_! It's the press, it's not her, you don't have to answer everything. You won't be hurt if you don't answer, you're safe! Just calm down, you just tried to much, too soon!"

"I'm sorry!" Kim said, so softly she wouldn't have been heard if the room wasn't silent, and the microphones so close. "I asked them here, I should answer them! I want them to know I really love Amy, I don't care how I got her, it's not her fault!" Tears started down her cheeks. "I never want her to think I was ever ashamed of her, not even for a minute! She's part of me, they both are, and I'm part of them, what more is there?"

"Nothing! It's all they need to know! Now, let's take you back to your room, you need rest!" Shego rose and began to help Kim to her feet, but the girl resisted.

"No! I asked them here, I don't want them to be...angry, disappointed, I don't know! I should be polite, I should try to answer them, please?"

"Kim, I don't think you should, you just had a flashback to...Kim, I heard you screaming from the cell, and you screamed for a long time! You had an experience you weren't prepared for, one that has severely affected stronger people than you, and you haven't spoken to anyone about it, to try and come to terms with it! I know why you thought you had to do this so soon, but I thought, and still think, this is a bad idea!"

"I told her everything she wanted, I betrayed people's secrets, to stop her from hurting me!" Kim was crying openly now. A couple of photographers tried to get a better view past Shego, but security guards kept them back.

"Not the first time, you didn't! There was nothing she wanted to know that was worth the pain! She just made you more vulnerable for the second time, and then she threatened the babies, too!" Shego felt her own suppressed anger rising. "_I have to find someone to take all this anger out on, after I get Kim out of here!"_ There was movement behind her, and she tensed up.

"Miss Possible, please don't worry, we understand, and would rather you speak for yourself when you're well." One reporter stepped forward as she spoke. "Some of us get carried away, and deserve the term 'feeding frenzy' being applied to us. And we showed little respect for your condition, I'd like to apologize for those of us that actually agree with me, I'm sorry."

Kim, a little less wide-eyed, nodded, but couldn't speak. With Shego on one side, she made her way to the door, just as her mother and her daughter appeared. Several cameras tracked onto the new arrivals, but their appearance was brief. As soon as the Possibles and Shego were out of sight, the television reporters began to disperse to find locations where they could do their wrap-ups undisturbed.

Speculation ran rampant. Shego's appearance had confused many, though some assumed she was disguised. That is, those who actually identified her. One or two theorized that the whole thing had been a set-up, but were told by another that Kim wasn't that good an actress.

Another pronounced Kim's reaction a normal one for someone who had been tortured, and not come to terms with it emotionally. And most wondered, and offered opinions privately and publicly, on whether the girl was 'used up', 'washed up', or had been broken beyond recovery. Optimists reminded people that it was early, the teen had had a lot happen to her, and tried to do too much, too soon.

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"What do you think, Charley?"

Surprised by the question, the girl looked up at Doctor Director. "About Kim?" Betty nodded. "She'll be okay, if she takes the time to work through things."

"I hope you're right, Charley!" Betty looked away. "_But I've had agents with that look in their eye, that were never 'right' again! That's also the end of any chance of Kim becoming an agent here, I'd never get approval now!" _She turned back to say goodbye, but Charley's mind was obviously a million miles away, so she left without speaking.

"_Kim will be all right, I just hope it's soon enough! Something is going to happen, but the question is, how soon?" _Charley mused.

Betty barely made it back to her office before Abby rushed in. "Du's done it! But, he hasn't left us much time, he's bringing Dementor in late this afternoon! Three hours from now, in fact!"

Betty dropped into her seat. "Great! Let's hope this goes smoothly, but I'm not betting on it! Start making arrangements, be sure he gets a cell well away from Drakken!" She suddenly wished she had a window to stare out, video monitors just didn't substitute. "_So tempted to say something that would jinx this, heh! Not that fate needs tempting, lately."_

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Please Read and Review.


	22. Another future?

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any of the other media I may reference in my stories.

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"**Well, well, well, we're getting a little tired, waiting for you heroes to do something interesting! I mean, sure, you can't move, but have you run out of insults or naive declarations that I can't get away with this?"** "_Okay, who's this guy? This is a totally weird dream, I wonder if the girls are sharing this one? Am I looking through my own eyes again? Where's Kim?"_ **The speaker wore a garish costume of red, green, and black, with a domino mask over his eyes, and dark, shaggy hair. He had make-up covering his face, alternating red and white vertical stripes. He moved lithely from side to side in front of Ron, peering behind the boy.** "_Where am I? Looks like some kind of lodge, very little furniture, snow piled up outside on the windowsills, and looks like it's blowing pretty hard, too!"_**There was a roaring fire burning in an open fireplace, to Ron's left front. Ron belatedly spotted two figures that could only be syntho-drones, one half-hidden behind the fireplace, the other at the far end of the room, where the ceiling was lower, standing besides a door.**

**The view shifted as 'Ron' glanced up,** "_Chains! Hanging from chains, arms bare!"_**Then down,** "_Gah! I'm naked! Wait, where did I get that big scar on my stomach? And I'm missing two toes from my left foot!"_**Then to his left, to see Rufus in a small metal cage with a large ring on top. "**_Old Rufus, before he changed? Wish I'd stop jumping around, try to focus...Kim!"_ **His 'vision' body now looked right, and there was a full length mirror against the wall. In it he saw himself stretched taut, back to back with Kim, who was also naked.** "_I can feel the heat from her body! She's all messed up, though! Some of it looks old, but she's bleeding, from somewhere on her torso, can't see for sure. Oh, hold still!"_**He chided his vision self.**

**The villain's grating voice spoke again. **"**Come on, Heroes! One of you can save yourself! All you have to do is press that button in your hand, and you're free! Of course, your partner gets pulled apart instantly, but if one of you doesn't make the decision soon, you're both going to suffer that fate, but much slower!" The view jerked, and Ron moaned, simultaneously with a sharp cry from behind him. "KP!"** "_Already at full stretch, but who is this guy, why is he so cruel?"_**There were video cameras on tripods, three visible in front of Ron, and there had been one to his left, for sure.**

"**Ron...getting weak...losing too much blood!" Kim's voice came from behind him.** "_Don't say it, KP!"_ "**Save yourself, I can't last much longer, I'm sorry I got you into this..." her voice trailed off.** "_No Way! I'd never do it!"_

"**Not happening, KP! We'll get out of this, both of us!"** "_But 'he' doesn't believe it, I can feel it!"_**There was no answer, and Ron 'felt' panic well up in his other self..**

**Their nemesis let out a theatrically loud sigh. **"**Well, we need to do something to keep our select audience happy, and since neither of you want to die yet, it will have to be your pet, Ronnie!" Ron's view shifted left again, just in time to see a pole hook the ring atop Rufus' cage, and pick the whole thing up. A thin human male, wearing a skintight red and black leather jumpsuit**_(Eww!)_ **had the other end of the pole, and began to swing it towards the fireplace.** "_NO! He can't!" _"**Yes, people, it's time to Roast Rufus! Hope the SPCA doesn't see this, I'm far more afraid of them then Global Justice! I mean, we've been live for ten minutes, and it took them eight to trace our signal! At least, someone traced it, but up here in the mountains, with a full blown blizzard outside, How will anyone get here in time to save the poor rodent, never mind it's master. I want a slow roasting, Phillie, make him squeal!"**

"**NO!" Ron shouted, drowning out Kim's words from behind him. And then the roof fell in, literally.**

**Not over the chained teens, but at the opposite, lower end. Shattered timbers and shingles, and a _huge_ amount of snow, cascaded into the room, the snow billowing outwards. Both villains jumped back in shock. "What the...!" Exclaimed the leader. Ron briefly glimpsed a large black bulk, part of whatever had crashed down on the roof. Then three figures stepped out of the settling snow.** "_Charley! Belle! Beth! Wearing their old armor!"_

"**I think this is as far as your show goes, Mister! Your audience will have to settle for a little violence for their entertainement!" Charley roared, her voice frighteningly loud for such a small girl.**

"**Kim! It's the weird girls from school!"** "_Man, that's a rude thing to say, Stoppable!"_ Then **the view changed very suddenly, Ron was back in one corner of the room, two syntho-drones turning towards him, and JJ Ko between him and them, blade in hand. Ron could clearly see the chains, running rapidly up through pulleys secured to the roof, until the manacles brought them to a halt, too large to pass through. The cause for this were a pair of winches to his left, which stopped automatically when the chains jammed.**

**He missed whatever happened to the head villain. Two gunshots sounded, then an impact that sounded _really_ painful, and he came flying across the space where Ron and Kim had hung, landing with a thud, apparently totally out cold. JJ took two swings, and a flood of syntho-goo was pouring onto the floor. One of the Reeder sisters charged at a cowering Phillie, slamming him back against the wall, even as she caught Rufus' cage when the man let go of the pole.** "_Yes! Though I would have liked a shot at that guy, myself! Huh? This is just a dream, or something, better not get carried away!"_

**Saul flew into his view, diving to his left. His gaze followed the skull to see Kim slumped against the wall. "KP!"** "_I'm going to be sick! What happened? Those old scars, the ones on her left arm look like burn scars, and her chest!"_**Ron was up on his knees, reaching to cradle his friend, looking aghast at three parallel slices across her abdomen, above, below, and through her navel, from which a lot of blood had obviously run. Saul hovered around the wounds, his eyes flickering. Charley ran over and knelt down, eyes on her bracer. "Belle, get Ron and Kim some blankets, quick!"**

"**Comebacks...are always a bad...idea!" The villain muttered, still laying where he'd fallen, "Should have just stopped being a hero, Possible!" Ron, unmindful of his nudity, got to his feet, and was stepping towards the man, when a voice sounded loud and clear through the house.**

"**BOSS! You've got incoming, but damned if I can tell what it is!" "**_T-Girl?_ _But the me in the vision is confused!"_

**All four girls came to alert, just as one window exploded inwards. Out of the snow that came in rose a humanoid figure covered in fur, with three long claws protruding from each...hand, or paw?** "_Oh, come on! Is that supposed to be some kind of wolf-man? Whatever, that's what cut Kim, take him down, Char..."_ **And the vision ended.**

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"What the hell just happened?! She was all right for a minute, then..."

"Shego! Calm down, you're scaring Amy! Look, Kim's fine, she just...Sweetheart, what just happened?"

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"Charley? Where did you just go?"

"I think the question is 'when', rather then 'where', Ma'am!"

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"Ron? Are you okay, Man?"

"Wha! Ned? Wow, that was intense!" Ron looked at the Bueno Nacho manager, then around at the other booths. He was definitely the center of attention. He looked across his table at the Reeder sisters, who were both staring at each other, then checked to his right, where Rufus, eyes wide, and JJ sat, the latter with a forkful of salad almost to her lips. Rufus was 'disguised' with a child's size baseball cap, a set of small bib-front denim coveralls, and a letter jacket.

"Wow, Ron! I've known you to zone out, but I didn't know you could affect others! You were all gone for a minute, I swear! Are you okay?" Ned did look concerned, Ron noted.

"_Did I say anything aloud? Might be better not to ask!" _He nodded, "Yeah, I don't know what that was, Ned! Sorry to worry you!"

"No problem! Uh, did Rufus run into that same freaky doctor Kim mentioned in her press conference?" Ned regarded the mole rat warily.

"What? Yeah, he di...OH, NO! We missed the press conference! I forgot all about it, we've got to go, now!" He started to get up, but JJ grabbed his arm. "Ron! Calm down, finish your meal, it's too late now! We missed it for a good reason, remember?" Specifically, dropping off their catch from Thailand at a research facility recommended by James Possible.

"Besides, we need to talk about what just happened, it might be important!" Beth added.

Ron hesitated, then sat back down. "Yeah, maybe it is!" He looked up at Ned, "We're okay now, but how did the press conference go?"

Ned shrugged, "It was fine as far as I saw, but I didn't see the end of it, I had to leave just as the reporters started asking questions. Kim did seem kinda stiff, though. The way she talked, I mean! Listen, I have to get back behind the counter, glad you're okay!"

As soon as Ned was out of earshot, Ron looked at the others. "Okay, did you have the same vision I did?"

Belle shook her head. "I doubt it, Ron, I think we all saw things through our own eyes! We were arguing with Wade...Wade!" Belle pulled out her Kimmunicator and activated it. "Wade! Did you...I guess you did!" Wade was looking around himself on the screen, eyes wide.

"What! No, I didn't...didn't what?" The boy genius sounded thoroughly confused.

"Have a weird...'waking vision', like the rest of us?"

"Um, well, maybe?"

Beth shook her head, "Well, listen, and see if this matches!" She addressed Ron."We were arguing with Wade, trying to get him to trust us, telling him we could get to you and Kim faster then anyone! We told him about Thundagirl, he believed us, we jumped to the location, scanned the lodge, then attacked! Thundagirl basically belly-flopped on the house and we dropped in as a diversion, while JJ was 'ported' inside to help you two. We saw you hanging there...God, Ron, those scars! Something really bad must have happened to you both!"

Noticing a new element in the way the sisters were looking at Ron, JJ couldn't help herself. "But all your important parts were intact, in fact you were quite impressive looking, Ron!" Just as Ron, and the two sisters, began to turn red, she added, "You must have worked out a lot!" Then, 'noticing' their blushes, she added innocently, "Why, whatever did you think I was talking about?"

Belle couldn't get anything out but "JJ!", but Beth managed a querulous "Impressive?"

"Hey, just because I bat for the other team, doesn't mean I don't know what you girls look for in a guy!"

Receding blushes returned, and Belle sputtered, "That's NOT what I look for!"

Ron felt Rufus shaking, and looked down, finding his voice, "Did you find something funny about that, Rufus?" The mutant mole rat shook his head, but apparently didn't trust his voice. "'cause it just occurred to me, you aren't a helpless little animal anymore, and therefore..." A grin suitable for Zorpox spread across Ron's face.

"Such thoughts lead only to the Dark Side, young Stoppable!" Rufus managed to get out.

Ron smirked, "Yeah, I guess they do, but..."

"Back on topic, guys!" Came Wade's voice. "I remember tracing the video signal, I remember that! I remember that werewolf, or whatever, slicing Kim's stomach, before that guy in the mask sent him outside! I remember the argument, I couldn't understand what was going on, I was just along for the ride, in my own...what the heck was it all about?"

"Well, shared dreams? Kinda doubtful!" Ron mused. "Another world? Heh! A future that was supposed to be, but isn't going to happen now?" He frowned. "You know, strange as it sounds, that last one..."

"If both visions are accurate(JJ ignored Wade's "Both?"), then we didn't meet until the start of the school year, and you were still calling us 'weird' when winter came, um, not being familiar with the school schedule around here, how long might that have been?"

"Depends when the snow started to fall, but maybe three months. And what was that about a comeback? I mean, Kim was scarred in the first one, but did it take that long for her to start helping people again?"

"And why were you there, at all? It was an empty lodge, I remember T-Girl's scan, nothing underground, nothing special at all." Belle commented.

"It was an ambush!" JJ stated. "Someone lured the two of you there, and tried to kill you with people watching on the Internet, or something! Did they do it because Kim was making that 'comeback'?"

"I think so!" Wade put in, "I was angry at myself for not checking out the mission better, before giving it to you guys! That's so weird, knowing what I was thinking!"

"No weirder then feeling the heat from that fire!" Rufus replied.

"Or the warmth from Kim's body, behind mine!" Ron added, then blushed slightly at their looks. "Whatever was going on, I wonder what it means to us, now?"

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"I don't know what exactly is going on, but I have some ideas! But, I don't have what I need to put it all together! I have to get everyone together, get the whole story from all of them, but right now, I want to go back to the start, to see if I missed something!" Charley spoke in an exasperated tone. "I mean, I know I did, and I think I did because I took some things for granted that I've always relied on!"

"I understand, Charley, and I agree that we have too many loose ends without hearing the details from Kim and Shego of what happened in the Rani's lair, but after that? The bombing isn't related, and we need to know why they did things the hard way at SmartyWorld. Some people might think they were showing off for some reason!" Doctor Director noticed Charley was looking at her curiously.

"What Bombing?"

"Oh! I'd forgotten, or assumed someone else had spoken to you about it!" Betty related the story of the bombing at Shego's house, and added details of the other attacks. Charley frowned deeply. "And this occurred after I told you Eliana Chosa's name? And you tracked her down?"

"Yes, and that may mean whoever has the bomber also has an informer inside Global Justice, which is being investigated. You're not to blame, Charley."

"Wasn't blaming myself, actually! Was trying to figure out his motive. Two big bombs for a single target, yet he has ground troops, you say? One sniper bullet is cheaper. Also, the bombing spoils any attempt to claim he is trying to rid the world of villains, by endangering so many innocents to get a single target! And there may be another possible way he found them..."

Betty frowned thoughtfully, even as she gave what to her was the most obvious answer. "Shego wouldn't be that easy to snipe, believe me!" She paused, "Or am I letting her reputation add an aura of invincibility to her?" She shook her head, "You might have a point, that was a bit of overkill, wasn't it? Then why? And what other 'way'?"

"He was after all of them." Charley replied, "The question is, why? He didn't know T-Girl could detect his plane, or more likely didn't know she could intervene on her own. Is he trying to get some support or sympathy by attacking villains, or does he truly want to wipe them out? I point out that he's been rather unsuccessful so far at killing his main targets!"

Betty nodded agreement. "So far, Monkeyfist, Shego and Drakken have been the only targets of importance at any of the attack sites. He has been bombing WWEE facilities, but none of them had Gemini himself present, so far as we know!"

"He knew the layout of Drakken's lair, well enough to target individual bombs on the entrances. My question is, could he have done more damage with the bombs he had? I mean, could he have collapsed the lair, or killed everyone by concussion, if he had placed the bombs differently? I don't think he meant to spare their lives, but I wonder if he had a reason to leave the lair intact?"

These questions actually made Betty forget the one Charley hadn't answered yet. Her frown was threatening to become permanent. "What kind of reason? You might have a point, but you need some kind of motive behind it!"

The conversation was interrupted when Brenda Core entered. "Ma'am, this legal document was just filed in Upperton, it involves Kim Possible!"

Betty's face grew grim as she read it. "I cannot believe...No, I _can_ believe it!" Then a thought struck her. "This might actually work for us! Not exactly in a good way, but now's not the time to quibble!" She took out her personal communicator and activated it, choosing a specific number. "Abby? Are you almost there? Good! I need you to listen, I have new orders for you!"

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"_Didn't Miss Possible's narrative seem rehearsed to you, Dan?"_

"_Actually, that may be half right. I believe she did rehearse what she meant to say, but then abbreviated it, or rushed through it, if you will. As to it's veracity, I would prefer to await the opinions of experts before commenting on the fantastic elements of her story."_

"_Do you believe her 'panic' attack was legitimate, from your standpoint?"_

"_Yes, I do. I have seen similar reactions from people who have undergone torture. Due to the time frame involved, it seems doubtful she has had any counseling to help her deal with her ordeal, in fact, we have no way of knowing if she sought such counseling after the incident in Go City, less than two months ago. If not, this breakdown was overdue, Melanie."_

"_I see. Well, our best wishes go out to Miss Possible, of course! Now to other news, a tornado warning..."_

Shego grimaced as she switched the set off. "No mention of my appearance, yet! That won't last though. Everyone is dodging it until they decide what it means, at least the legit press is, I don't think the next round of tabloids is going to be good for my blood pressure!"

"I'm sorry you had to risk that for me, Ana, I thought..." Kim, back in her hospital bed, heaved a deep sigh, "I haven't been thinking very realistically lately, have I?" Amy was cradled in Shego's arms, working a pacifier, and studying her other mother's face. Kim managed a smile at the sight, but it didn't last long. "Where's Mom?"

"Taking a long walk, so she doesn't punch out that intern who was supposed to be watching out for you! Arguing with her boyfriend over the color of the car he wants to buy, can you believe it?!" she smirked, "I think that's one reason your mom gave me Amy C, to keep me from doing the same, with somewhat more force!"

"Amy C?" Kim looked suspiciously at the woman, "How did you find out her middle name, I only gave it to her just before the press conference?"

"Oh, I've been here a while, Princess! Heard a couple of nurses gossiping, that's all. Now, tell me about this vision of yours, while we're alone."

Kim made a face, but complied, adding a few details from 'her' perspective. "The wolf guy who sliced me open looked like something DNAmy would have made, like when she did Monkeyfist's hands and feet. He also said something about me dying a virgin that I won't repeat!"

"How badly did he cut you?"

"It didn't seem deep, but it never stopped bleeding, until Saul stopped it. Maybe it was something on his claws, an anti-coagulant?" Kim shuddered, "Whatever! I can tell you this, though, I was seriously..." She became thoughtful, "'I' was feeling just like I did right after the fight with you at the chemical plant, where that stuff got splashed on me, and you escaped so easily! Angry at myself for thinking I could manage, frustrated, scared I would never be the same as I was before Go City!"

"I had a little vision of my own, Princess, or more accurately, a memory." She described her encounter outside the Gallery that night. The change of subject was due to an inability to think of something comforting to say. "_Sure had a lot of words earlier, _now _I run dry?"_

"And that's why you really trusted 'Eliza Morrisey'?" Kim's face revealed her skepticism. Her recovery from her panic attack had been remarkable, If Shego didn't know her as well as she did, she might have suspected it had been faked. It hadn't happened until they had gotten her back to the room, undressed, and back into bed, and a doctor had checked her vitals, but as the number of strangers in the room had dropped to zero, Kim had relaxed.

"Well, I don't know how that guy's assurance affected me at all, I thought I was just following my gut instinct with her, but...there was something about him, but I'm damned if I can place it!" Shego maneuvered Amy so as to check her watch. "I hope your mother gets here soon, I have another appointment, before I pick Milly up and head out."

"Who did you leave Milly with?" Kim asked, a slight frown on her face.

"Someone reliable, don't worry about it."

Kim frowned, but before she could pursue the matter the door opened, and a nurse stuck her head in. "Is Doctor Possible here?"

Shego sensed some tension in the nurse's manner, though she tried to hide it. She stepped over to the bed, and handed Amy to Kim before replying. "No, she's around somewhere, though, it is important?"

"Oh, No, I needed some information from her, I'll check in later." The nurse replied, before exiting quickly.

Shego looked at Kim's face, seeing if the girl had detected the lie. The slight frown suggested she had. "I'll find out what's up, Kimmie, you keep Amy C happy." Shego then exited the room looking for the nurse, who she quickly spotted talking to another nurse. But she also spotted Anne Possible, coming from the same direction, and so did the nurse seeking her, who went quickly to her and began to speak urgently. The look that appeared on Doctor Possible's face set alarms off in Shego's head, and she hurried to follow the two women when they went off down another corridor.

Shego followed them to the nursery, where she saw a familiar face watching a confrontation between a petite African-American woman in a doctor's coat and a man Shego pegged as some kind of bureaucrat, who had a severely-dressed young woman at his side. The doctor she knew to be Emily Maisfield, the pediatrician who had examined Amy. Shego had heard a little gossip while hanging around before the press conference that indicated the woman was no one to be pushed around. She also spotted Abby Hogan, accompanied by two men in plainclothes who were obviously agents. "_Don't really think I'm needed here, after all, and I need to get going. Staying now would just make things more complicated!" _She stepped back out of sight of the GJ agents, turned and left.

"You're here to do what!!" Anne Possible kept her voice down with an effort aided by long practice, but the outrage in it carried well enough.

The man, possessing a narrow face, a jutting jaw, and a receding hairline, spoke with an air of authority. "I have a court order to take custody of that child your daughter is claiming is her own!"

"A child who is in this hospital to have tests run on it!" Emily Maisfield snapped.

"And who authorized those tests? And don't tell me her 'mother'! I don't know where Kim Possible found that child, or why she thinks anyone will buy this fairy-tale of hers, but I intend to find out! The girl is obviously mentally unhinged! We're taking that child, and comparing her to all reported child abductions or disappearances in this state, and beyond!" He held up the paper in his hand. "And it's perfectly legal, so stand aside!"

After all she had been through, Anne Possible had had enough, and the next few minutes would have been colorful indeed, if another voice hadn't interrupted. "It may be legal, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to overrule it!"

The man turned to face Abby Hogan, who had stepped up behind him. "Overrule? On who's authority? And just who are you?" Abby showed him her ID, being in plain clothes, but it only made him falter slightly. "I don't recognize your authority in a domestic child welfare matter!"

"Well, let me explain it to you, Mister...?"

"Bascom, Wendell Bascom! And this document was signed by Judge Lattner!"

"Awfully fast work, considering that press conference was barely an hour ago!" Abby replied, a suspicious look in her eyes. "In any event, due to their involvement in a highly classified matter, both Miss Possible and the child, are being taken into custody by Global Justice. Their apparent involvement with a wanted criminal is also a matter of interest to us."

"That's ridiculous! It's as if you're buying that silly story from an obviously emotionally unbalanced teenager! There is no way this baby was made from the DNA of two women!" Bascom sputtered.

"Actually, I know several experts on genetics and related fields who tell me it's perfectly possible, Mister Bascom!" Abby replied calmly.

Bascom gaped, "Well, what about this nonsense about accelerated time?"

"If _that_ were possible, it would obviously be classified, Mister BAscom." Abby turned to one of her companions. "Agent Kent, please stay here with Doctor Possible, while she prepares the baby for transport."

Anne Possible didn't know how to take this intervention, but decided to go along, for the kept a stern look on her face, and put an arm on Emily's to forestall any reaction from her. Bascom was unsettled, to say the least, but the sweat that had broken out on his assistant's forehead seemed a bit of an overreaction. "_Somethings wrong, here!" _Anne thought.

Bascom finally managed to put a sentence together. "You haven't heard the end of this, I assure you! Let's go!" He snapped to his assistant, and they both walked away. As they turned the nearest corner, Abby turned to her other companion. "Follow them, find out all you can about Mister Bascom, and that court order of his!" The man nodded sharply, and departed on Bascom's trail.

"Are you really taking Kim to Global Justice?" Anne asked Abby.

"Yes, at least until the final DNA tests are in to prove Kim's parentage." Abby smiled reassuringly, "Also, we would like to get the whole, unvarnished story of what happened to Kim on the record, and Charley would like to talk to her, as well."

Anne's look softened. "How is Charley doing?"

"She's beginning to act like her old self, from what Betty tells me." Abby's use of Doctor Director's first name wasn't lost on Anne.

Anne nodded. "I'm glad to hear it. Can I accompany Kim?"

Abby grimaced. "Your husband, maybe, he has a high security clearance, but for you, I'd have to get permission. Besides, you have the rest of your family to look after, and we honestly have no bad intentions towards Kim, I assure you."

Anne sighed, "You're right, I need to get back to the boys, I need to repair whatever damage they did to the kitchen _this_ time!" She looked Abby in the eye. "I have your word that they'll both be okay?" The slight warning tone in her question made Abby smile.

"As safe as we can keep them, Doctor Possible." Abby turned to Emily Maisfield. "There aren't any problems with moving Amy, are there?"

The genuine concern in her voice softened Emily's frown, marginally. "No, there should be no problems, she's a healthy little girl!" She replied.

Abby looked at the babies in the nursery. "Which one is she?"

Anne started, "Oh, she's not here, she's in Kim's room, with...her parents."

Abby's right eyebrow rose, "Oh, I see! Well, if someone would show us the way, perhaps we had better go make sure every thing's okay!"

Approaching Kim's room, they saw one of the hospital's security guards arguing with a thin, bald man in an expensive suit, flanked by two men who had 'bodyguard' written all over them.

"That's Martin McSmarty! He must be here to see Kim!" Anne declared. As they approached, they could more clearly hear the conversation.

"My people are _very_ well trained, if they say they saw three men dressed as orderlies acting in a suspicious manner, then you should take them seriously!" Marty was saying.

"Where are these men now?" Abby asked, cutting off the security guard's reply. The reply came from one of Marty's bodyguards.

"Went down that corridor, Ma'am, about five minutes ago. They were pushing a gurney towards this room when we stepped out after Mister McSmarty's conversation with Miss Possible. As soon as they saw us, they became uncoordinated, then turned completely around and went down there."

"And I have been trying to get this man to take the matter seriously ever since!" Marty commented caustically.

Abby gave Kent a nod and he headed down the corridor in question, as the guard repeated his excuse for the seventh time. "We have a bunch of new people who don't know their way around. They just got lost, is all!"

"And it took three of them to push one gurney?" Abby asked him skeptically. He just shrugged. Abby's comm went off and she took it out to read a text message. "Court Order was a fake, but was entered into the official record in case someone checked it out! Becker has already called in a license plate number for Bascom, a rental!"

Anne frowned, "They were after Kim, Amy, or both, you mean?"

"Probably! The question is, were the two attempts related?" Abby looked up and down the corridor, then studied the two bodyguards. "Mister McSmarty, we'll be moving Kim and the baby out of here as soon as transport arrives, would it be all right if your security people remain here until more of my people arrive, just in case?"

"No problem at all! In fact, it will give me another chance to talk Miss Possible into accepting a reward for yesterday!"

"Kim doesn't do things like that for rewards, Mister McSmarty." Anne said.

"Call me Marty, please! I know that, but just because she isn't motivated by reward is no reason to turn one down freely offered! And it is an eminently practical one, under the circumstances!" He took his lapels between thumb and forefinger of each hand, flashing his biggest smile.

"What did you offer her, Mis...Marty?"

"Tuition assistance, for her and all the members of her team! One year's worth, at any school they choose to attend!"

Anne was mildly stunned, and a bit peeved. "Oh, My! And she turned you down, flat?" "_Kim, I though we discussed this!"_

"Well, only for herself, she said the others might accept, and I should ask them! Perfectly willing, of course, but I really think she can use the money right now, with all her added burdens she really should think more realistically! Shall we go in and talk to her?"

"I couldn't agree more, Marty, but I need to help her get dressed right now. I will talk to her about it, though, and let you know how that turns out."

A recalcitrant Kim frustrated both Anne and Abby, not wanting to go to GJ headquarters, or accept the reward. But she gave in in the end to both, by which time she was again dressed, and four more GJ agents had arrived. Kent had found no sign of the three orderlies, even with a more thorough description from the McSmarty bodyguards.

Emily Maisfield gave Amy one more check-up before signing the release forms for both mother and daughter. Transport to GJ was on a normal-looking civilian helicopter, though this one had a few hidden features, naturally. Anne kissed Kim and Amy goodbye, and frowned only slightly when told one of the GJ agents would accompany her home.

Ten minutes later, airborne, and letting Abby hold Amy, Kim had another vision. And again, she was not the only one.

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**Charley didn't recognize the place she was seeing through 'her' eyes. It was a large room, with a circular table in it's center, and a huge view screen, now smashed, on one wall. Next to the table stood a cylindrical machine, above which, suspended one above the other, was some sort of small, flickering mass, a lump of plain gray stone, and a piece of yellowish crystal, from top to bottom. Several bodies littered the floor, humanoid, but somehow not human, though she couldn't see them clearly. Directly in front of her was some sort of unfinished machine, with a small dish antenna pointed towards the cylindrical machine.** "_I've seen that machine before, the Doctor assembled it from TARDIS parts to...Hmm!"_

**A groan from besides her caused the vision Charley to look to her right. Shego lay there, and she frankly looked like hell. There were tears in her jumpsuit, each revealing a severe laceration or burn. Her left cheek was split by a thin gash, and a lot of blood had trickled from her mouth, all the way down her throat, and into her jumpsuit. "**_She's missing part of her left hand, gloves have been tailored to match, and she isn't moving her legs, though everything else is twitching!" _**Beyond Shego, Charley saw what could only be a TARDIS, it's doors open. From within came a flickering light, shifting from pale blue to yellow and back again.** "_Oh, No! That's bad, have to get the TARDIS to dematerialize before that let's go, or there will be a hell of a hole wherever this is!"_**She watched as her vision self pulled herself painfully closer to Shego. "**_Not in very good shape, myself! I can feel a lot of pain, especially in my legs!"_

**Shego's eyes flickered open. "Wha...Oh, God, I hurt! I can't feel my plasma, I may have burned it out! What's going on here, what did I expose with my power?" Charley noticed for the first time several pieces of melted, twisted metal on the floor around the cylindrical machine. In the vision, she saw herself pointing at it, while taking a quick glance to her left, where what appeared to be a man was mostly buried in a pile of wreckage. But then Shego spoke before Charley could. "Hey! That's anti-matter!"**

"**How do you know that!" **

"**Saw some on a remote camera once, Doctor D managed to make some once! Only contained it for about five minutes, though, which is why we were watching it from a distance, about fifty miles, to be exact! Cost him a fully automated lab, but he was so...ahhhh, I'm not going to make it, am I?"**

"**None of us are, Shego! He brought his anti-matter here in that blue cylinder over there."**

**Shego tried to focus her eyes on where Charley indicated. "Doy! I tried to get that open, earlier!" **

**Charley shook her head, which caused pain in a lot of places. "You couldn't have done it, it was sealed by a lock that only opens when it recognizes it's owner, by their physiognomy! You would have needed to have his face to open it! As to his plan, he stole a Top Secret bomber from the Air Force, and used it to seed the upper atmosphere with slightly energized Tempusite. Energizing it lets it remain fixed, 'til the charge expires. It's also the reason for all the odd plant growth around the world, but it's not powerful enough yet to affect animal tissue. He laid it in bands longitudinally, all around the planet."**

"**Now that," she continued, pointing at the crystal, "Is also Tempusite. The rock in the middle...I think is Strange Matter, but I'm not sure! When the timer expires, the anti-matter will fall into contact with the Strange Matter, and there will be a tremendous release of energy..."**

"**A Damn big bang, you mean!" Shego interjected.**

"**...which will pass through the Tempusite, destroying it, but not before it gives off a pulse of energy which will radiate out from here, striking the bands of Tempusite in the atmosphere, triggering a 'wave' effect, that will pass all around the globe, instantly aging all organic matter, somewhere between fifty and a hundred years on the first pass. When the waves meet on the far side of the planet, they'll either cancel each other out, rebound off each other, or pass through each other. Doesn't really matter, aging that much that suddenly will kill every human on the planet!"**

"**Damn! Can we stop him?" Shego turned her head painfully to look at the TARDIS. "What's the light show?"**

"**Radiation, not a form you'd be familiar with, but lethal after brief exposure."**

"**Like it matters, now!" Shego closed her eyes briefly. "What happened to Kim and the Buffoon?"**

"**Ron took the girls to a hospital, hopefully in time, I did as much as I could without the boys." **_"Damn, this must be past...not important now!"_

"**What about Kimmie?" **

**Charley nodded towards the TARDIS. "She's in there, trying to get the last piece we need to finish this." She did something to indicate the unfinished machine that wasn't visible through her eyes.**

**Shego didn't ask if Kim knew the danger she was in. "What's that supposed to do?"**

"**If I assemble it right, it can shift the Strange Matter forward in time, taking it out of the equation. Won't move it spatially, so it will be left far behind the Earth. Can't do the same with the Anti-Matter, unfortunately, or the Tempusite!"**

"**But then the anti-matter will hit that tempus-crap, instead!"**

"**And annihilate it, instantly! No energy pulse that way! That only leaves saving Go City, but that's up to others. But I have faith!"**

**A hacking cough broke from the trapped man, possibly substituting for laughter. "Faith! In some nameless deity?"**

"**No, in the Doctor." Charley replied quietly. The man spasmed as more coughing wracked his body. A noise drew Charley's gaze to the TARDIS, to see Kim staggering out, carrying a blue metal cylinder with tapered ends, with two reddish bands encircling it. Kim's hair was almost entirely white, bleached that way by the radiation. Her walk was unsteady, but she walked as quickly as she could over to Charley. "This is it, I hope?" Her voice was a cracked whisper. "Yes!" Charley replied, "Let's get it in place!" Using just her arms, Charley pulled herself around and helped fit the cylinder into a slot on the machine. Across the room, coughing under control, the man began speaking, still staring at the ceiling.**

"**The Doctor! I was prepared for his intervention, so I blocked him from entering here, I focused solely on dealing with him! But you...three...bitches! With your weapons and armor, I never expected four Knights Valkyr, especially the original four! The green bitch, with her power! How did you manage to increase it to that level?!" He pushed himself up on his elbows, glaring at Kim. "And you...once before, you foiled me. Why can't you just quit, why can't you just lay down and die, Kim Possible!"**

"**Heh! Just not wired that way! Just took some time to remember that, I guess!" Kim gave one connection a final twist, and Charley flipped a switch, bringing a low hum from the machine. She then began to adjust the position of the dish.**

**The man tried to focus his eyes. "What are you doing?"**

**Both girls looks at him. "Saving the world." Charley replied. **

"**It's what we do." Kim added, and pushed a button on the machine. The hum increased, and the gray rock suddenly vanished. **

**The man gawked for a moment, then frowned, "Again! But you haven't saved yourself! And excuse me for not sharing your fate!" He pushed his sleeve back to expose his left wrist, on which sat a complicated bracelet of some kind.** "_A __Time Ring!"_

"**No!" Charley shouted, but before any of them could do anything, if they _could_ do anything, the man pushed a control on the bracelet, and faded from view. "Got away! He...hell!" Charley slumped to the floor.**

"**How long do we have?" Shego asked, voice fading.**

"**Um, the countdown was on the big screen, which someone blew up!" Kim replied. She too was now sitting on the floor, seemingly barely able to hold her head up.**

"**Well, excuse me!" Shego snapped back, without much heat. "Oh, well, why worry, we have...what we have!"**

"**KIM!" Ron's voice came from somewhere. Charley's forehead was against the floor, and she didn't raise her head to look, but Kim apparently found her Kimmunicator. "Hey, Ron!"**

"**What's wrong, you sound terrible! I dropped the girls at the hospital, I'm on my way back!"**

"**NO! Ron, there's no point, you can't save me now, even if you get me out, I'll only die in a few days anyway! Besides, this whole tower will be destroyed in a few minutes or less!" Kim paused, and Charley heard her gasp. "Please, Ron, don't die, too! I couldn't stand the thought, please!"**

**The silence lasted nearly a minute before a plaintive "Kim..."**

"**Ron, have a good life, please, and thank you for being the best friend someone could ever have! And tell my family...I love you all!"**

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**Ron Stoppable stood at the controls of the hovering hovercraft, staring at Go Tower. He raised his Ronunicator to say...and Go Tower vaporized. "NOOOOOOO!" Swirling blue-white fire exploded outward from where the tower had been, rushing towards Go City...and suddenly stopping, blocked by some form of invisible field. Frustrated in it's attempts to spread horizontally, it climbed skyward, forming a pillar of flame. Ron's gaze followed it upwards until it began to slow, then stopped, yet somehow didn't dissipate, but continued to roil.** "_God! I feel everything he...I'm feeling! Losing KP, He...I...oh,God!"_

**There was a small object hanging above the pillar of flame. Ron could just make it out, the Doctor's TARDIS.** "_He...he must have stopped the explosion, but why isn't it disappearing?"_

Then the vision faded. But the awful feelings did not.

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"Shego! Wake up!" "_Nerdlinger?"_ Shego came back to her own body, sitting at the controls of her own jet, flying..."Gah!" Shego grabbed at the controls, then saw that the auto-pilot had been engaged. "Huh?" Then her eyes narrowed. "Nerdlinger! What the hell are you doing in my plane's systems! In fact, how long have you been in them?!"

"Heh! Well, in order, saving your life, and since you were having it built!"

Shego ran through a gamut of emotions and thoughts before she could trust herself to speak.

"Thank You, and HOW DARE...heh, what am I saying, you were keeping track of me for Kimmie, just like with the hovercraft!" Shego ran her hand across her forehead, and found it covered with sweat. "_Heh, just experienced my death, that should cause a little perspiration!"_

"What happened, Shego? Did you have a vision, too?" Wade was voice only, but Shego heard concern in his voice. "What? You too, just now?"

"No, no, we all had one earlier, Ron, me, the girls. Maybe Charley and Kim, too, no way of knowing!"

"Oh! Yeah, Kimmie had one earlier too! One in some kind of lodge in the mountains, right?" Shego felt composed enough to disengage the auto-pilot and resume manual control.

"That's it! This is so weird!"

"Tell me about it! Listen, much as I'd love to talk more, I'm getting close to my destination, need to focus on that for now. Thanks again for the save, Nerdlinger, but I'd better not find any video surveillance in the main cabin, do you hear?"

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"Charley? Charley, talk to me, what's wrong?"

"_Wrong? Nothing! In fact...Oh! Oops" _Charley turned to look into the concerned eyes of the nurse, who was wrapping a towel around her. Her first stand-up shower since her injury, and she zones out! "I'm okay, I just learned something important."

The nurse gave her a funny look. "Ooookay!" She helped Charley out of the shower stall, helping her dry off before pointing to a pile of clothes. "Thought you'd like to get out of that drafty hospital gown!" A pair of light sweatpants and a loose smock were a definite improvement. "You know, you're healing a little faster then expected, what's your secret, Charley?"

"When I figure that out, I may be one step closer to figuring out this puzzle in my head!" Charley admitted.

"Anything I can do to help with that, Charley?" A tiny bit of reproach was detectable in Doctor Director's tone. The girl had been so preoccupied with her thoughts she hadn't seen Betty approach.

"Oh! I..." The girl paused, mind racing. "Yes, Ma'am, I think we both need to help each other, because something really bad is about to happen, and we have to find a way to stop it!"

Betty's eye widened at the vehemence in the girl's words, but Charley continued before Betty could respond. "First thing, did you record that conversation you had with the Doctor? If so, I need to hear it! Also, there are other pieces of information we need, to identify our enemy, and find out just how much of what's happened has been his fault!"

Betty nodded slowly. "All right, Charley. Yes, I do have it recorded, I'll arrange for you to hear it." She was then interrupted by her comm beeping. "Yes?"

"Ma'am, I think you had better come up to Ops, we have an unidentified aircraft approaching, heading directly towards us, and Will Du's aircraft is due in twenty minutes, as well!"

Betty just made it to Ops in time to see the mystery aircraft descending vertically behind a stand of trees north of the main entrance. And she recognized it, even before Agent Harp announced, "The aircraft has been identified as Shego's, Ma'am, Should we send a team out there?"

Betty gave him a wry look. "One team? Not a good idea! But no, I'm going out there myself, she came here to see me!" Ignoring the astonished looks, she pivoted and marched out.

Graham Shields met her in the hall. "Doctor Director, I've managed to determine that none of those who were actually aware of Eliana Chosa's name and location had an opportunity to leak that information in the short time between her becoming a person of interest, and the bombing attack. We are _not_ responsible for the bomber finding her!"

Betty scowled as she kept heading for the elevators. She suddenly remembered that Charley had mentioned another possibility. "Good news, Bad news! Oh, Shego herself is outside, you might want to accompany me while I talk to her to make sure the contact is properly monitored!"

"What? Why aren't you deploying tactical teams?" He followed her onto the elevator.

"'One must always be careful what one signs one's name to!' I sent her an offer of a meeting, promising no attempt would be made to arrest her, and letting her chose the location. Of course, I never _dreamed_ she'd decide to meet me on my own turf!" She shook her head as she exited the elevator. "After all these years, I should know better then to expect her to do anything in a predictable manner!" She checked her watch, "Probably won't be here to welcome Professor Dementor personally, hope he doesn't find out someone else took priority, or he'll be in a snit for weeks!"

Betty set a brisk pace as she marched up the ramp and turned left, striding across the grass and starting up the gentle slope towards the trees. Shields couldn't help wishing he had his sidearm, no matter what the circumstances were.

Shego was leaning against the nose of her plane when the two arrived. "Decided on a chaperon, Betts? I swear I have no dishonorable intentions towards you! Besides, where's Abby? She usually has your back!"

"She's bringing Kim Possible and her child here, there were attempts to kidnap the baby."

Shego's smirk vanished, and her face tightened, as Betty indicated her companion. "Graham Shields, Our Internal Affairs officer for this base. He just determined that the bomber didn't learn where you were from anyone in Global Justice, he had another source."

When Shego just continued to scowl without offering a reply, Betty continued, "Shego, we need to talk about you, what your intentions are, whether or not we can arrange something for you and your child. Without the green skin and all it may be easier for you to hide, but do you want to remain a fugitive?"

Shego closed her eyes, face losing all expression. "No." Then she opened them, and started to look at Betty, but her eyes locked instead on something she saw between the trees, a GJ tilt-engine coming in low, apparently planning to set down at the main ramp, instead of landing on the elevator to the hanger. "Company coming?"

Betty turned to look herself, "Professor Dementor, he requested Protective Custody, Agent Du is bringing him in."

Shego was frankly incredulous. "You're kidding! And why here, instead of Europe?"

Betty kept her face expressionless. "Not that's it's any of your business, but he didn't have much confidence in Global Europe." The trio had walked through the trees far enough to see the entrance clearly. A diminutive figure that could only be Dementor was heading for the ramp, surrounded by a knot of GJ Agents. The aircraft they had disembarked from lifted off again and headed south.

"Anything to do with the loony Kimmie stopped from wiping out..." Shego's voice trailed off as her eyes became unfocused. Betty's head snapped around, a sharp question on her lips, but she stopped when she saw the thief's face. "Shego? What's wrong?"

0000000000

On the far side of the large clearing containing the base entrance, two sets of eyes, only one of which was human, watched Dementor and his escort vanish inside. "Why has nothing happened!" A voice hissed.

0000000000

Inside, Betty's receptionist Grace, was taking an incoming call. "Yes? No, I'm sorry, Miss Ko, neither Miss Hogan nor Doctor Director are available at the moment...Very well, I will inform her..." She was interrupted by an alarm sounding through the base. "What! We're under attack!?"

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While most of the agents in the Ops room were watching the monitor covering the trees where Doctor Director was barely visible, Brenda Core was sweeping her eyes across all of the others, until her eyes locked onto one, as a small object, or small from her perspective, appeared over the trees, then dove towards the entrance ramp. Her hand shot out and hit the alarm button seconds before the room shook, and several more automatic alarms went off.

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Shego's eyes came back into focus, and locked immediately on something streaking low over the distant treetops. It took seconds for her brain to switch from her thoughts to processing what she was seeing. Her eyes widened in alarm. "Get DOWN!" She dove down behind a small boulder, Betty right behind her on reflex alone. Shields barely found cover himself before the cruise missile dove down the ramp and hit the main door with a thunderous blast.

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Read and Review, Please!


	23. All in the crosshairs

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, and of the other characters from that series, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

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As the vibrations of the explosion died away, Shego raised her head cautiously. "Where the hell is this guy getting his ordinance? That was a cruise missile of some kind!"

"Do Tell!" Betty snapped, as she activated her wrist comm. "This is Doctor Director, what's the situation inside?" Climbing to her feet and brushing dirt off herself by reflex, Betty headed quickly towards the entrance ramp.

Rising as well, Shego was torn whether to follow her, which she knew wouldn't be expected of her, or leave. Then something in the evening sky to the east drew her attention. "Betts! Nine o'clock, above the trees! Hell, there's another one!"

Betty turned to look where indicated, spotting both of the aircraft Shego had seen, only to have a third appear before her eyes. Literally appear. _"Like Thundagirl?!"_ "Damn! Laird said she couldn't be duplicated!"

"I wouldn't exactly call those copies of the big girl, Betts!" Shego responded. "They look like someone hacked up some helicopters to make those!"

"And they're painted in WWEE colors!" Shields exclaimed. The three aircraft were wobbling unsteadily in the air, and so far were stationary.

Betty shook her head, while judging the distance they needed to cover to reach the main entrance. "No way Sheldon puts something that shabby looking in the air, he's got too much pride, and good manufacturing capability!" She decided it was too late to make a dash for the entrance, and without knowing if it was blocked by debris or not, not too great an idea, anyway! "We have to reach one of the emergency entrances, let's try the one near the hangar elevator. I don't know how long whoever is in those ships will take to get their act together...I think they just did, the ships have stabilized!"

The trio dashed back into the cover of the woods. Betty repeated her call for information from inside, with no response. "We need to divert incoming aircraft away from here!" She looked at Shego. "Including Kim's!"

"Doctor Director, can you hear me? This is Agent Simpson!" Betty responded quickly. "Simpson? Why didn't you answer before, What's the status inside?" Checking the progress of the three odd aircraft, Betty saw them descending to land in a line about fifty feet from the top of the ramp. "You've got a ground assault coming, get tactical teams to the main entrance, if possible!"

"Ma'am! I'm calling on a walkie-talkie, because the main comm system is completely down! Someone activated a full viral infiltration alert, we can't send or receive any transmissions until the system is fully scanned by our anti-virus program! I'll try and coordinate tactical response, but I think the elevators are shutdown, too!"

Shego was watching the attacking craft. They appeared to have originally been Hueys, or a similar design. The tails had been chopped off, the rotors and engines removed, and the cabin roof raised significantly. "_They need to accommodate transit tubes, or did they use horizontal ones? The two cylinders on the sides of the roof must be where the jump engines are, or whatever __T-Girl_ _uses for normal motive power. Think she has two low, and two high, though, maybe that's why these were so wobbly on whatever auto-pilot controlled them after their jumps!" _She then spotted a feature of the center craft that caused her concern. "Betts, the middle one has some kind of structure on top, might be a weapons mount!"

Betty looked just in time to see two long barrels rising from the conical structure, then swinging to a horizontal position. The head and shoulders of the weapon's gunner rose up behind them. "That's a twin fifty!" Doors opened on both sides of each craft as they touched down, and armed men, wearing what appeared to be WWEE uniforms, leaped out. "What's the status of the automatic defenses?!" She asked Simpson.

"Core and Linfield went up to manually activate the two turrets by the main entrance, they should have gotten there by now!" Betty counted eight men total exiting the aircraft. "_One pilot staying with each, plus the gunner, four men per ship, those tubes must have been grouped tightly!" _Then she saw that two of the men were carrying more then assault rifles.

"Damn! They're ready for the turrets! Shego, we're not armed, can you hit those guys? I know your plasma suffers attenuation over range, but..."

"I've learned a new trick, Betts, but I haven't learned to vary it's effect, I might kill one of those guys!" She looked towards the clearing where she'd landed her ship. "Do either of you have the means to warn Kimmie's plane off?"

"We can try, but they have to get within range of our wrist units, and they aren't that capable without the main system online to boost the signals!" Betty replied. She didn't take her eyes off the attackers. Two were standing with some kind of anti-tank launcher on their shoulders. A third was circling the ships, armed with an assault rifle. Five more men dashed towards the ramp. "_Small team, just to verify that the target, which I assume is Dementor, has been killed!" _"Simpson! Five hostiles heading for the ramp, assault rifles for armament!" She turned her head to look at Shields, who was studying the cover to their right, trying to decide whether he could get closer to the entrance. "Agent Shields! Try and contact Abby! If you do, tell her to divert to the nearest military base she can get clearance for!"

The two defense turrets flanking the main entrance suddenly rose up out of the bushes slightly downslope from their position. But the two men with the AT launchers tracked on to them and fired before they reached firing position. Betty, Shego, and Shields all ducked as the rockets slammed into the turrets. Shrapnel whirred over their heads and lodged in some of the trees around them. The two shooters tossed their launchers back inside their respective ships.

One pumped his fist in the air, and both unslung their rifles. They stood on the 'outside' of the row of ships, one at either end. The third man circled the center ship, keeping a constant scan of the area. The gunner on top also swept his weapons around.

"I'm going to try and reach my ship! I can use the radio...are your people on an encrypted channel?" Shego asked urgently.

"Yes, but they're also scanning the normal channels, put out a general broadcast, say a Federal facility is under terrorist attack! Abby will probably recognize your...Hell! No telling if she'll believe you, or not!"

"Well, I'm going to...What the Hell?!" Betty looked quickly at the attacking ships, and saw the left hand one enveloped in a cloud of white smoke, or vapor. "Could that be condensation? Some kind of malfunction may have caused it!"

Shego studied the cloud through narrowed eyes, and shook her head. "I don't think so." she muttered grimly.

000000000000

Anthony Clay felt a surge of adrenaline run through his system. He'd become point man! Two guys had stayed at the hole blasted through the door, to cover the rear, while Clay and Staley had followed their team leader into the GJ facility. The corridor inside was filled with smoke, and Clay had slipped in something he couldn't see and nearly fallen twice. Staley had been forced to drop off to watch a cross corridor, to Clay's satisfaction. "_Bet he hates being left out on the kill, unless the target's already dead, that would be a bummer!" _Then a live GJ agent had grappled the team leader, and Clay had followed the briefing orders, not to stop, but to go on, and confirm the kill, if possible.

The smoke was thinning, and he saw shapes on the ground, unmoving. "_It's too bad they had to suffer, but they shouldn't...No! Stay in the right mindset, you're supposed to be a WWEE agent, you have to act like it!" _Then he saw the target. First he spotted a GJ Agent face down in the center of the corridor, blood seeping from underneath him. Another, an Asian, was slumped against the wall on his right, apparently unconscious. And directly in front of Clay, the target was lying along the wall, blood pooling around him. But Clay couldn't assess his condition, because someone was in the way.

It was a young woman, wearing gray sweat pants and a colorfully patterned smock top. She was kneeling alongside the target, apparently trying to staunch the bleeding. Her back was to Clay as he stepped forward. "_A WWEE Agent wouldn't even warn her...but I can't go that far!"_

Raising his weapon, he shouted, "Stand Aside, I'm here to put an end to...Stand aside, or I'll shoot you!" "_What the heck was I supposed to say, I'm not supposed to be killing him because he's evil! _I'm_ supposed to be evil!"_

"This man is unarmed, and critically injured, you're not going to shoot him while he's under my care." The woman answered, calmly.

"He's about to die! And if you don't move aside, you'll die with him!" Clay stepped forwards, less then three feet from the woman's back. He found out she was just a girl when she spun and stood up, staring him right in the eyes. He backed up three steps almost without thinking, and she followed, keeping the muzzle of his rifle less then three inches from her chest. Something in her eyes unnerved him.

"This man is under my care, and my protection!" Charley Cob stated forcefully, "And I will not let you harm him!"

Shocked and uncertain, Clay suddenly got mad. "_Oh, Yeah?"_ He raised the muzzle of his rifle to aim at her face. "Stand aside, or DIE!"

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The attacker manning the twin fifty-caliber machine guns atop the center ship looked in surprise at the white smoke enveloping the neighboring craft. Then he made a leap in logic. "_Bet it's those people in the trees, some kind of smoke grenade!" _In truth, he needed no excuse to fire the weapons. Swinging them around, he depressed both triggers, and raked the woods with fire.

Below him in the pilot's seat of the craft, the pilot stopped worrying about the humiliating short legged, short sleeved, coveralls he had to wear, with no underwear! He shouted into his microphone. "What are you shooting at?!" Turning his head enough to see out the side door of the main cabin, he saw something small and fast moving through the smoke. Too small to be human, it moved low to the ground, and disappeared immediately. The pilot picked up his sidearm and made sure he had a round chambered.

Above him, the gunner had to stop firing because his feet were slipping off the rungs of the ladder he was perched on. The whole mounting was just a conical metal shell with a ring mount around the top, with a ladder leading down to the deck of the ship's cabin. As he regained his balance, he noticed the smoke cloud had darkened. Then he realized why, and looked up.

The pilot heard a loud squawk over his headset, and turned to look into the cabin just in time to see the gunner drop to the floor, fall to his back, and scrabble backwards towards the open starboard door. Then the whole ship was slammed downwards, hard enough to send a blast of nausea through the pilot's head. His head snapped downwards until his chin hit his chest, and a tremendous clash of sound came from the cabin.

When he could focus again, he realized the ship was no longer level, and he saw that the whole structure of the gun mount had been driven through the ship's roof, and lay badly deformed, along with the wrecked guns, on the cabin deck. And through the ringing in his ears, he clearly heard a loud, angry female voice. "Cheap Knock-offs!"

Betty clamped her jaw shut and looked quickly to her left, to see if she could catch Shego with her jaw dropped, but the thief just had a wicked grin plastered across her face. "That girl sure knows how to make an entrance!" Shego exclaimed admiringly, " Think I'll head for the entrance, see if I can help!" And she bolted from cover towards the top of the entryway.

The attacker who had been circling the center ship had been standing between it and the right hand ship, peering through the open doors at the cloud of smoke, when he had sensed something above him. He had hurled himself backwards toward the right hand ship, going prone and covering his head. The loud crash as Thundagirl slammed down atop the center ship had shaken him, and it took a moment to recover his wits.

When he looked up, he saw the near landing skid of the smashed craft had been driven into the ground, before the struts had snapped off completely. Then his gaze raised to look at the big ship, seeing a hatch on his side sliding open to the rear. He scrambled to his feet, swinging his gun to bear. Just as he spotted movement inside, and was tracking onto it, Ben and Roy uncloaked on either side of his head and whistled in his ears. Loudly. He dropped his rifle to clamp both hands over his ears.

On the far side of the right hand ship, the last guard hadn't seen T-Girl coming, but he had heard the crash. He was looking through the ship's doors at his buddy when Ben and Roy disabled him. Snapping his rifle up, and setting it to semi-automatic, he was aiming at Ben when he saw something glowing blue land on the far side of his friend. He couldn't make it out clearly, but he did hear the sound of a blow, and see his buddy suddenly flying at him through the ship's cabin. He barely managed to shift his rifle to one side before his friend could slam into the muzzle, before the hurtling body knocked him flat.

Breath knocked out, he saw the pilot's door fly open and that worthy emerge, trying to disentangle himself from his harness and his communications cord, making no attempt to use his pistol at all. Then an arm reached out through the door and grabbed the pilot's collar, and jerked him completely back inside. Throwing his unconscious buddy's body off, the guard tried to rise, but a weight suddenly dropped on his chest. His eyes bulged out of their sockets as he beheld Rufus looking down at him, claws at the ready.

The mutant mole rat cocked his head, and inquired, "Violence?"

After a moment, the man shook his head and croaked, "No thanks."

The two men left at the foot of the ramp to cover the line of withdrawal couldn't see what was going on at all, either inside, or outside. They began to cautiously ascend the ramp, each keeping close to opposite sides. They were a third of the way up when they heard a voice from above and behind them. "Hey!" They turned, just in time to get knocked flat by two bolts of green plasma. Moments later the Reeder sisters reached the top of the ramp, to find both men out cold. Looking up at Shego, standing above the entrance, Belle complained, "Couldn't you have left us one?"

JJ Ko went out the opposite side of T-Girl as the others, dropping into the smoke billowing around the left hand enemy ship. She found the gunner cowering besides the center ship, currently looking incapable of taking any action. Nevertheless, she locked his wrist to one strut of the landing skid on this side of the ship, using handcuffs. She then checked the pilot inside, who offered no resistance, either. Once done there, she turned her attention to the smoke-shrouded ship.

Moving as carefully as she could, Goldie hovering at her shoulder, she determined that the cockpit was empty, and the cabin, as well. The smoke was surprisingly thick, and showed sign of dissipating. "T-Girl? Do you have anything on the guys that were in this ship?"

"Just a sec...Okay, this may sound strange, but I have one human, carrying two more, and accompanied by...a monkey? Anyway, they're well east of you, and making damn good time, for one man carrying two others!"

"Big guy?" JJ found her way out of the smoke, and looked into the darkening eastern woods. Goldie was facing her, as if waiting for orders.

"Not really. Tall and skinny, would be my call. He's got too much of a head start for you to catch, though!"

"Who does?"

JJ spun around to see Doctor Director striding towards her. "Ma'am! I'm...uh, I don't know what to say!" She repeated what T-Girl had told her.

Betty frowned. "Monkeyfist? Here? How did he know?" _"Wait a minute! Monty trying to find these guys...they're hunting villains...Dementor turns himself in to us, which puts him out of their reach...he was bait!"_

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Charley Cob sighed, then moved faster then Clay could register, batting the rifle muzzle away. At which point Will Du fired his StopWatch into Clay's side. Charley held onto the rifle as Clay spasmed and collapsed, then handed it to Du and dropped back besides Professor Dementor, who stared at her through pain-filled, but wondering eyes. She gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I've staunched the bleeding, you should be okay, I have help coming! In fact, here it is!"

Fred dove out of the smoke and hovered, waiting for orders. He had Charley's bracer suspended below him, held up by is tractor beam. "I need you to repair this man's femoral artery." Charley ordered him, while taking her bracer off and donning it. As she did, three more GJ Agents arrived. Charley addressed them. "There's one hostile still functional, he's taken cover in a small room thirty feet up the corridor, on the left. Something must have malfunctioned with his rifle, he's abandoned it, only has a pistol now!"

"How do you know that?" Will Du asked. He was watching Fred work on Dementor's leg, when Saul also appeared, and began scanning the other injured agent. "Oh!" He ordered the trio of agents to go on and deal with the reported hostile. They had hardly gone when Brenda Core and a medic appeared.

Charley addressed them. "That man on the floor has a punctured left lung, and a perforated left kidney, Saul is stopping the major bleeding, but he needs surgery, extracting the metal in him without repairing the tissue around it would be inadvisable." She indicated Dementor. "Severe shrapnel wounds in his right leg, lacerated femoral artery, mild concussion." Pointing up the corridor, "No one alive that way who hasn't already been helped." She then looked at Will Du, as Fred moved over to check him. Du was securing his prisoner. Looking at her bracer Charley nodded. "Two cracked ribs, both on right side, mild concussion!" She looked up. "Saul, head down to the infirmary, we can 'port the seriously wounded there." What she got in response surprised her, a negative 'shake'. "What! Why can't you?" A frustrated look came over her features. "What's going on?"

"I'd like to know the answer to that, too!" Doctor Keyes arrived from the direction of the Infirmary. "Among other things, what are you doing here, young lady?" Even as he asked, he knelt to look at Dementor's wounds, which Charley had wrapped before Fred arrived, with dressings she'd grabbed as she left the infirmary.

Now, she looked slightly annoyed. "I couldn't...I just couldn't sit still with something happening right here!"

"Can you show me the extent of Agent Lean's wounds, Charley?" Keyes asked her, indicating the unconscious agent. She nodded and adjusted the displays on her bracer so he could read them. A pair of nurses arrived with a gurney, and Keyes told them to take Lean first.

As they did, Charley heard Dementor mutter something. "Pardon, I couldn't hear that, Sir."

"I said _Verd_...Fiske, this is all his fault! It vas his idea for me to play the 'bait'! He blackma...convinced me to do this!" He looked at Charley. "_Danke,_ Fraulein, for all that you did for me! I vill not forget!" He closed his eyes and laid back down.

Charley checked to make sure his vitals were all right. "He's Okay, just out cold!" She told Doctor Keyes.

"Yes, well, you're not, young lady! Time for you to get back to your own bed!"

"Actually, Doctor, you're quite wrong, I'm fine!" At Keyes' skeptical look, Charley stood facing him, grabbed the hem of her smock, and pulled it up to her armpits. Keyes, doctor or not, instinctively started to protest her actions, then went quiet when he saw her chest was unmarked. Charley covered up as soon as she knew he'd seen what she needed him to. "Not sure how this happened, but it will have to wait! Now excuse me, I have to find my friends! Fred, Saul, let's go!"

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"Monkeyfist!" Ron exclaimed, "What's he doing here?"

"Trying to find the guy who bombed him, same as we are!" Shego replied as she walked up with the Reeders. Right behind them came five GJ Tactical officers. Betty frowned when she saw them. "Just five? Where are the rest of your teammates?"

One agent spoke up first. "Ma'am, as near as we can figure, someone deleted their badge numbers from the authorized list! As soon as they boarded the elevators with their weapons, the system identified them as armed intruders, so the cars sealed, and they were gassed! Even with the antidote, they won't be effective for at least ten minutes."

"Then it was done from the inside, there are damn few people who can hack our systems from outside!" Betty paused, "Anyone heard from Wade Load lately?" She held her hands up to ward off several objections to her suspicions, most strongly from Ron. "He has a mother, a potential hostage, remember?"

"I talked to him just before landing here." Shego said. When the others gave her inquiring looks, she dodged answering. "Look, Monty has two prisoners, and he isn't going to be nice to them, hadn't we better get after him?"

"You're right!" Betty replied, "Thundagirl**,** do you still have a fix on Monkeyfist?"

"No, ma'am, just a bearing to his last location, I can't believe he was moving so fast with that burden!" T-Girl had shifted off the crushed aircraft, and landed twenty feet from it. Ben, Roy, and Goldie now hovered over the three girls.

"Damn!" Betty cursed, then became all business, "Okay, Ron, will you accompany this team? I want you to use Thundagirl for a search." Ron nodded in response. "Okay, then I want the rest of you girls..."

"HE'S COMING BACK!" T-Girl roared out.

"Monkeyfist?" Both Betty and Ron blurted out.

"What! No, the bomber, I have him...Bearing 022, course 264, Range twelve miles! He's not heading directly at us, though!"

Shego frowned, then a frightened look came onto her face. "Can that thing launch air-to-air missiles?!"

Betty's head snapped around, comprehension dawning. "No idea, the damn Air Force won't tell us anything!"

"There are two aircraft in that direction, one of your Global Justice ships, and a civilian helicopter!" T-Girl reported, "He must be after your aircraft, I'm on it!" And she vanished, even as Shego opened her mouth to yell "NO! Kim's on the helicopter!"

Betty activated her wrist unit. "Abby's got to be in range by now!" She declared, grimly.

And just to add to the mayhem, the girls' and Ron's Kimmunicators went off, all at once. JJ had hers up fastest, to reveal a panicked Wade Load. "Guys, Help! Someone's attacking the house!" A look of terror appeared on Shego's face, and she turned and sprinted towards her own aircraft. As she did, another figure appeared at the top of the ramp, and sprinted after her.

"Charley?" JJ cried incredulously, then started running herself, while calling back, "Stay and help Ron, guys!" While Roy and Ben took off in pursuit of JJ, Goldie spun around in confusion, and finally stayed put.

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After having the latest jarring vision, Kim had been unable to keep it to herself, and had told Abby about all three. And they both fixed on one key revelation. "He says you defeated him before, but you don't remember him? Do you think all this is a dream, Kim?" They had the cabin to themselves, Abby had quietly assigned the other agents from the hospital to go and keep watch on the Possible residence.

The girl shook her head. "No, there was too much in it, I felt all the pain, I felt the emotions that 'I' was feeling in the visions, as if I were there! Every sensation _she_ felt, I did!" She looked at Amy, asleep in Abby's arms, thanks to the sound and vibration proofing of the helicopter's cabin. Walt hovered around the baby, but kept his eyes switching back and forth between Kim and Abby. They didn't realize he was focusing on their lip movements. "As to not knowing him, maybe he was part of that world only, not this one?" Then she winced slightly, "Or, another Time Lord!"

Abby winced, as well. "I hope not! We've had enough of those, for the moment! Well, I wouldn't mind seeing the Doctor, maybe he would have an explanation!" Abby's head snapped up, and towards the cockpit, as something came over her headset.

"Agent Hogan, there's smoke over the base, they may be under attack!" announced the pilot.

"You've tried contacting them?" Knowing the question was rhetorical, Abby didn't wait for an answer, "Circle wide around the base, until we know more!"

Kim watched helplessly, cut out of the loop for the moment, and unwilling to distract Abby with pleas for information. But after a few minutes, Abby's eyes widened in alarm, and the helicopter suddenly dove towards the forest below. "Kim! When we get down, get out and run for the trees! I'll bring Amy!" Abby shouted. She unplugged her headset as she did, and wrapped the baby up as securely as she could. Amy, of course, was no longer asleep, but sounding off at the top of her little lungs.

Kim was torn between the knowledge that Abby had to be the one to do it, and turning her back on her baby when it was distressed. But she fought her emotions down, and hit her harness release the second she felt the wheels hit the ground. Flinging the door open, she exited with a distinct lack of grace, but recovered from her stumble and ran as fast as she could, fighting the urge to look back and make sure Abby and Amy were all right. Then she no longer needed to, as the older but fitter agent passed her. Moments later, someone else swept Kim off her feet without breaking his stride, and carried her the rest of the way to the trees.

No one stopped until they were fifteen yards into the woods, when a sudden dull roar sounded overhead, and the treetops swayed wildly, as a shadow passed over them. Abby dropped against a large tree trunk, shielding the baby, while Kim's rescuer did the same with her. After a moment with her pressed between the tree and his chest, the man relaxed, and Kim clearly saw that it was one of the pilots. "Thank You!"

He smiled at her, breathing heavily. "No problem, Miss."

"Kim" she responded, then pushed to her feet and headed for Abby. Just as she took Amy away from the woman and tried to sooth her, a familiar rumble came from overhead. "Stay in cover, down there!" boomed T-Girl's voice, "I'm about to play 'chicken' with this guy!"

"Over here!" All three turned to see the other pilot, waving them towards two fallen trees that had dropped at right angles to each other, giving them good cover, unless a bomb dropped at the open end of the 'v' they formed. All three had barely made it behind the trunks when they heard the approaching roar of the bomber again. Then the sound of the engines increased, and there was a loud whine as the aircraft apparently increased power and climbed to avoid Thundagirl. "Buck, Buck, Buckaw!" They heard, before a series of explosions rocked the forest.

As the reverberations of those died away, Kim found herself feeling suffocated, being under a huddle of the three GJ people. "Little air for my baby, please and thank you!" They fell back slightly, but everyone remained tense.

Then they heard T-Girl again. "Okay, he's gone! I wish I could have gotten a reading on his material components, I could have taken a wing off him that time!"

All four of them stood up, Amy still crying, and surveyed the forest. Dust and small debris filled the air only thirty yards away, and many trees had obviously been torn apart by the bombs. Stepping up to the log that had shielded them, Kim saw gashes in it from shrapnel.

She shuddered, and Abby put a comforting arm around her. "Retiring as a hero suddenly doesn't seem so dumb, anymore." Kim muttered quietly.

000000000000

Charley and JJ barely made it into seats before Shego lifted off, Charley in the co-pilot's seat, JJ in the main cabin. Roy went all the way to the floor on lift-off, before bobbing back up level with the other boys. Fred sent a disapproving buzz his way, and got a raspberry back.

Shego didn't check to see who had boarded with her until she was in level flight, throttles open, and her plane's stealth system engaged. Then she did a double-take when she saw Charley. "Hey! When did you get better?"

"Had an unexpected visitor, and beenhealing at an accelerated rate since." Charley replied matter-of-factly, while prodding her chest, wincing slightly. "Not all haled yet, though!" She looked quizzically at Shego. "Why didn't you just 'port those people to safety at SmartyWorld yesterday?"

"Because those alien buddies of yours took that power away from them, same reason as some other changes they made, I'm told!" Shego replied, then turned to call back to JJ, "Try and get Nerd...Wade back on the line, see how he's doing!"

"Really?" Charley muttered to herself. Then she looked over at Shego again. "Why are we in such a hurry to get to Wade's? Not that I object, but you seem especially intent!"

"I left Millie with Mrs Load! Figured no one would find her there, but it seems I was wrong!" Shego glanced over at Charley. "Any idea how he's doing it, our mystery adversary?"

Charley hesitated, then turned towards the main cabin. "Boys! Safe to whistle?" All four skulls came alert, and rotated in place. After a moment, they all bobbed an affirmative. "Come up here, but stay out of Shego's way!" When they had all entered the cockpit, forming a vertical line between the seats, she asked, "Have any of you scanned the new skulls?" Fred and Saul both bobbed. "Are they identical to you guys, I mean _exactly_ the same?" Again she was answered affirmatively. "Very interesting!"

Shego was scowling. "What's the matter? I thought you trusted those aliens or yours?"

"I certainly did, but...these guys are walking all over their own rules against intervention!"

Shego suddenly became thoughtful. "A failing of all races who take up a 'no-intervention' policy, is that they all have certain individuals who can't stay within that policy's bounds." She responded to Charley's curious look, "Something someone said to me recently."

"Wade says the police are there now, and maybe some plainclothes GJ agents!" JJ reported, "They found four attackers incapacitated by Wade's, um, security system, six more got away in a pair of SUVs, they left one behind. Alert is out on the SUVs, of course! He says there was shooting outside, he doesn't know how many people were hit, if any!"

Shego eased up on the throttles a bit, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Betty must have relayed a message to the Middleton HQ through one of the GJ aircraft. I'm going to get Milly and find somewhere to hide her."

"No! You need to keep her as close to you as possible, and we all need to get together, Shego! Stopping our enemy, or enemies, requires putting together a puzzle, and all of us have pieces of it! If we keep splitting up and going our separate ways, we'll never stop this threat!" Charley's vehemence startled Shego.

"What do you want me to do?! Hand myself over to Global Justice? I had one free pass from Betty Director, but I think I used that up!"

"Maybe we can get it extended!" Charley turned in her seat. "JJ! Can I borrow your comm?"

"You can have your own, I brought it to give to you, but I forgot I had it in my pocket!" JJ came forward and handed the unit to Charley.

Shego eyed the girl skeptically. "What happens if Betty says yes, but she gets overruled?"

"If that happens, I'll get you out." Charley answered decisively. She initiated a call as she spoke. "Doctor Director, I wonder if you can extend Shego's amnesty for the duration of the current emergency, we badly need her voluntary cooperation to resolve this matter!"

"Really?" Betty responded in a droll tone, "For your information, it has already been extended, with the reluctant consent of the CEC, I might add! Shego is officially at large, but Anastasia Whitlock and daughter are officially in protective custody of Global Justice, as of three minutes ago."

000000000000

Ron Stoppable dashed through the forest, having outdistanced the GJ Tactical team minutes before. Only the slightest trace of MMP fueled his movements, but it was more than enough to make his progress through the most tangled growth nearly effortless. He had to find Monkeyfist before he killed his prisoners, if that was indeed his intention. But he also had to wonder where Monty got the power to carry two full grown humans and run as fast as had to escape the attack. "_It can't be MMP, he rejected it after he traveled the Path of the Yono, even lost his simian hands and feet, somehow. So, what has he found to substitute for it?"_

It was as he reached one end of a brush-choked hollow that he heard a frantic voice. "Stay away from me! Don't touch me!" Ron veered to head towards the sound, running along the slope of the hollow as if it were level ground. He soon saw an open space in the middle of the brush, and two figures in it. They wore what was left of their fake WWEE uniforms, and were on opposite sides of the clearing from each other, with one frantically pushing himself back into the brush on one side, staring in fear at his companion, who knelt, head in hands.

Ron landed in between them, and the frantic man began screaming. "Watch out! He's got Mad Monkey Disease!" Ron did a double-take, looking at both men in turn. The so far silent one was just kneeling there, shivering. Ron saw that his skin was covered with odd blue blotches. "Mad Monkey Disease? How did he get that?"

"That Monkey bit him! The one with the man, he threatened to have the monkey bite me, if I didn't tell him everything he wanted to know!"

Ron's lips twitched, as he struggled to keep his face solemn. "Did the monkey, by any chance, spit on him, too?"

"He was spitting all over the place, foaming at the mouth, too!" The man remained wide-eyed with fear, whether of his companion, or the memory of his recent experience, Ron couldn't tell. He moved away from the two men, and neither followed him with their eyes. Clambering up one side of the hollow, he spotted the GJ team and attracted their attention. He also took out his Ronnunicator, and connected with Belle Reeder, asking her to put Betty Director on.

"Hi, Doctor Director, I found them both alive. Monty scared them into talking, or at least one of them! The other thinks he has an infectious disease, and it might be a good idea for both to think that for right now, might help you get the truth out of them easier."

"Oh, Really? And I suppose you know for sure that they're not really sick, Ronald?"

"Nah! Chippy spit something on one guy's face, which turned blue and spread out, making big blotches. Also gave him a nip, nothing serious, I'm sure, but now the guy thinks he has Mad Monkey Disease! Monty threatened to have Chippy bite the other guy, too, unless he answered all questions, and I bet he did just that!" The team members came up in time to hear enough to cause one or two grins. Leaving them to handle the prisoners, Ron started back towards GJ HQ. "_Kinda merciful for Monty, I wonder if he did it to avoid upsetting Chippy? His last Monkey Ninja, last link to his quest for that power?"_

000000000000

Betty Director watched Thundagirl descend onto the elevator, which immediately started down to the hangar level. She had picked Kim, Amy, and Abby up herself and brought them the rest of the way, apologizing for jumping to protect the wrong ship first the whole time.

"Ma'am?" Agent Kellie Linfield walked up to her. "Anti-Virus program complete, all systems coming back online. The Tactical people are all being revived, and all intruders have been accounted for. We have three dead, and fifteen injured, plus Professor Dementor. No fatalities among the attackers, though a few broken bones on some of them. Their WWEE uniforms are really shoddy, probably slapped together on short notice, some paint on their helmets was still tacky in spots!"

"Very Well, Miss Linfield, I'll be in shortly." Betty turned to look at Doctor Laird, who was scrambling around the improvised attack craft, along with two assistants. Beth Reeder was talking to someone on her comm nearby. She suddenly nodded, and turned to locate Betty, before coming over. "Ma'am, T-Girl says these things are real lash-ups, very short range, and probably only good for four or five jumps, total, before exhausting their jump fuel!" She turned to call to Doctor Laird. "T-Girl also says some of the fuel is leaking around the ship she smashed, and is mildly radioactive!" Laird and company exchanged startled, and accusatory glances, before backing hurriedly away from the damaged ship.

"Didn't even think to check!" Betty exclaimed, exasperated. "Nobody who went near that ship goes inside until we find out if you need decontamination!" Seeing Laird speaking urgently on his own comm, Betty turned to Beth. "Fuel? Does Thundagirl use fuel to jump?"

"No, she can recharge her jump engines the same way a Geo-Kinetic reactor works. Basically, any time she's at rest, she's recharging. But that system can't be built here. But whoever these guys are who are after us, they have money to burn, none of these three conversions would have been cheap, Ma'am!"

Betty nodded. "That was never in doubt! They have a bomber they need to house, fuel, and kept supplied with ordinance..." She looked towards the ramp, "...hopefully they bought that missile, and can't manufacture something that sophisticated themselves!"

Betty's wrist unit beeped. "Doctor Director! We've just found something on the Internet! A new website filled with videos of Kim Possible and Shego!"

"What! More Go City clips?"

"No, Ma'am, these appear to have been taken in some lair somewhere! They are even offering clips showing how the two got pregnant, and had their children delivered! Oh, and there are clips of Kim being tortured, some monsters, a whole lot of stuff! They're advertising over twenty hours of content!"

Betty's face went pale. "_Video from the Rani's lair? How?! And will it blow all our cover stories out of the water?" _"Trace the website, we'll have to shut it down, before...wait, how many 'hits' on this site, so far?"

"Sorry, Ma'am, it's been up for hours, and has already had nearly 74,000 hits and downloads!"

Betty's shoulders slumped, and she closed her eye, pinching the bridge of her nose tightly, as she slowly shook her head. "Hell!"

000000000000

Anne Possible's route home didn't take her near enough to the Load house to see the commotion there, nor did she see a familiar jet pass overhead as she pulled into the garage at home. The first sign she had of trouble were her twin sons, huddled together on the living room couch. The TV was off, no video games running, no sign that James had cooked the food she'd prepared for them. Becoming aware of her presence, the boys were off the couch immediately and rushing to hug her.

"Mom! There's something on the Internet about Kim! But Dad won't let us see it, he won't even let us turn on the TV, either!"

Anne frowned. "More about what happened to her in Go City, you mean?" Both boys shook their heads, and spoke in unison. "No! We only saw a little, but it was some kind of lair, with monsters!"

Anne was speechless for a moment. "Boys, where's your father now?"

"Upstairs in your room, Mom!"

"All right, I guess you haven't had dinner yet?" Both boys shook their heads. "Okay, I'm going up to see your father, then we'll go out for something, Okay?" Two dubious nods came in response.

Anne ascended the stairs and entered the master bedroom. The computer to one side was on, but there was no sign of James. Until she heard the sounds of him being violently sick in the bathroom. "Jim?" She started towards the bathroom door, but caught sight of the computer screen and stopped cold.

The picture was an overhead shot, the camera seeming to bob slightly. It showed Kim curled up in a fetal position on a concrete floor. She was naked, with something white that might have been a shirt lying near her. Surrounding her, scuttling about her, were three spider-like creatures. They faced towards her constantly as they circled, keeping roughly three feet from her as they did.

"Anne! Don't watch! I never meant to bring that clip up!" Anne spun to see James standing in the bathroom doorway, pale and shaken. Then a voice came from the computer. "Well, time's up, Miss Possible! No answer means punishment!" Anne couldn't help but look, as one of the spiders lashed out with a tentacle. And moments later she was pushing past her husband into the bathroom, the sound of Kim's scream ringing in her ears. James lunged the other way, reaching the computer and punching the reset button. He then turned and hurried back to his wife, holding her as she emptied her stomach.

Nearly ten minutes later they sat together on the bed, holding each other as if afraid letting go would bring terrible consequences to them both. "We can't let her go on, we have to stop her! She's our daughter, how could we let such a thing happen to her?" Jim spoke shakily, trying hard to keep his emotions under control.

"We can't, and we didn't, Jim! We agreed in the beginning that it was her choice to make, as long as she kept her...oh, God! I so wanted to let her quit, in that hospital room in Go City! I so wanted to let her give in to her fear, and give up! If I had this wouldn't have happened! But then how would I have lived with myself, if she never got her courage back, if she was afraid to live her life the way she wanted?" She met his eyes, as full of tears as her own. "I didn't let her give up then, I can't let her do it now, unless it's her free choice, unless she knows I will support whichever way she chooses to handle her life!"

"But, she's my little girl, how can I see these things done to her, and not..." His voice choked off. He took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. "I know what's right for me, and what's right for her, and I have such a hard time trying not to be selfish, but...the world is such an evil place, sometimes, and she won't turn away from it! She won't stop trying to help people, I know, but can't she find a safer way? I mean, can't she?" His voice was pleading for her agreement, but she had to stay firm.

"Maybe she can, maybe she will, Jim! But, she might end up being eaten up by guilt about those she could have helped! She has to eventually decide on her priorities, her child, herself, against the needs of others, and I hope she asks for advice, and I hope my answer is as unbiased as I can make it! But, we still have to let her decide, unless we think she's no longer competent to do so."

That brought a spark to Jim's eyes. "Of course she's competent! I never said she wasn't! I just meant...well, maybe I just meant she should consider our feelings, especially after seeing that!"

"Why did you have that on, anyway, Jim?"

"I didn't! I mean, The boys told me about the website, and I was looking at it, and I saw one clip titled 'Kim and Shego see the babies for the first time'. And I clicked on it, and watched it, and then without warning the picture changed to that atrocity! I have no idea..." He stopped, as a scowl grew on his face. Standing up, he marched to the bedroom door, opened it, and called, "Boys! Get up here, on the double!" It took less then a minute for the Tweebs to arrive, more then slightly apprehensive. "Boys, I know your hacking skills aren't up to Wade's..."

"Says who?" Tim interrupted him, then both twins wilted under the look he gave them.

"You may think I 'm unaware of that hacking competition the three of you indulged in..." Both boys paled, "...after all, I was one of the 'collateral casualties'..." Feet began to shuffle nervously, "..but let's forget that...for now! Right now, I need you to find out if my computer received an external command of any kind in the last thirty minutes, and if so, from where!"

Both Tweebs' faces lit up. "You want a name, IP address, and Social Security Number?" Tim asked.

"_Please_ and Thank You!"

"Jim..." Anne said in a warning tone.

James grimaced slightly "Oh, Right! Don't break any laws while doing it, boys!"

"Aw, Man!"

"And I'll order pizza."

000000000000

Landing in front of the Load house would be a seriously bad idea, Shego was thinking, until she saw to her surprise that someone had cleared the turning circle in an adjacent cul-de-sac, and was waving light wands up at her plane. Sunset was minutes away when she set down. "JJ, do me a favor, and stay with the plane?" The girl nodded, and Shego and Charley exited the plane and strode swiftly towards the Load residence. Two people wearing jackets proclaiming them to be Federal Marshals fell into step with them without comment. Of course they were more likely to be GJ Agents.

The press was present in force, and no wonder. A MPD cruiser sat smoldering in the street, watched by alert firemen. Three ambulances were present, and a fading wail indicated another had just left. There was a crowd of onlookers, naturally, but more then enough police present to keep order. Some State Troopers and Federal Agents backed up the local force, and any of the latter might actually be Global Justice agents, who had limited permission to dress as such, as their two escorts were currently doing.

Paramedics were working over a man lying along Shego's path, and she felt rather than saw Charley hesitate as they passed, but the girl kept going. Her 'boys' were cloaked, but at least one must have stopped to do a scan, because Charley surreptitiously checked her bracer as she walked. The front door to the house was open, and currently jammed with law enforcement officers. "_Imagine me walking so casually up to a crowd of cops!"_ Shego reflected as the crowd parted before her, but not without some curious, if not downright suspicious glances.

Wade's mother was in the kitchen, holding Milly in her arms, trying to sooth her. "Mrs Load, I am _so_ sorry! If I had known you'd be in danger..." Shego began, before Loretta Load cut her off sharply.

"Stop Right There! I am not taking any apologies for dealing with any men that would threaten such a dear child! Besides, we were perfectly safe, none of them got past the first line of defenses, they had a long way to go to hurt anybody!" She stepped closer and lowered her voice, "Mind you, now I have to explain some of Wade's 'security measures' to the local constabulary, but I think my contributions to their annual bake sale should smooth things over!"

"Was anybody killed, Mrs L?" Shego asked anxiously.

"No one died, but two of those men were shot by the police! I think three officers were hurt, too. The rest of the bad guys were already unconscious when the police began to arrive, thanks to my Wade!" She answered proudly. As if cued, Wade's voice suddenly echoed down the stairs. "Shego! You had better come see this!"

Shego rolled her eyes. "Now what?" She took the stairs two at a time, Charley trailing after. They found the boy genius industriously typing on multiple keyboards at once, but Shego's eyes shot straight to one of his monitors. "What the Hell!" She suddenly took a quick look behind her, to see Mrs Load scowling at her over Charley's shoulder. She bobbed her head, face contrite, "Sorry." Then she turned back to the monitor, which showed images from the Rani's lair.

Specifically they showed Kim, carrying both babies, and flanked by monsters, walking down the main corridor, with the Rani beside her. Behind them walked another monster, carrying Shego. Her broken arm hung limply, and the side of her face...Shego spun away from the screen for a moment to fight down bile in her throat. "_God! It looks like all the skin was torn off, my eye..." _She heard more typing, with Charley muttering "excuse me" to Wade. She turned back to the screen, to see an image of Kim washing her legs, her torso covered with the large towel she'd awakened under. Then the image began to speed up, going faster then Shego could follow, before slowing again, at a familiar scene. "Damn You, Possible, Don't you die!" Then Kim's attempts to hold the monsters at bay, her fall, and Charley's rescue, dispatching five monsters in mere moments. "_Damn! She's good, when she's on her game!" _Shego mused.

"Where did all this come from, Nerd...um, Wade?" Shego asked, with a sidelong glance at Mrs Load.

Wade's fingers never stopped dancing. "No idea, unless you mean the website itself! Came online four hours ago, and I missed it! I mean my search engines did! There's more than twenty-three hours of total content, none repeated!"

"This is all wrong." Charley muttered.

Shego looked at her incredulously. "Ya Think?"

Charley only looked annoyed. "Shego, Think! Why put this stuff on?"

"To...hurt Kim, humiliate her, expose everything done to her! And me, too, of course!" A shocked look came on her face. "Wade, is this stuff censored in any way?" Wade cringed at that, and Mrs Load began to scowl, but Charley cut in. "Never mind that! What I mean is, this isn't all bad stuff, if whoever put this up wanted to portray Kim negatively, why leave so much in where she's being brave, or caring? Do you understand?"

Shego frowned, and slowly nodded. "Yeah, for propaganda, this is pretty poorly edited." Before she could continue, Roy suddenly uncloaked and began to whistle the theme from an old TV sitcom. Mrs Load started, but Milly looked happy to see her friend again. Shego tensed, while Charley checked her bracer, and a puzzled frown appeared on her face. Then the picture suddenly changed on the screen.

It was the interrogation scene again, but it was the Rani's questions that shook everyone. "And how did you learn about Project Skyblade, Miss Possible?" The girl lay on the floor, shivering, which was also evident in her answer. "Wade hacked the information for me, after the Air Force wouldn't tell me what I had protected!"

Wade's face went straight to shocked, but as he opened his mouth, Charley snapped, "Wade, voice print analysis, quick!" The boy's mouth snapped shut, and his fingers began to dance again, without his eyes leaving the screen. The scene had changed again, Shego and Kim approaching the container where they would see the babies for the first time. Then they did, but the dialog was wrong again. "Are they human?" Kim asked. "Human enough to pass, Kimmie, and worth the price! Don't worry, I know places we can hide if anyone finds out the truth and lives to tell about it!"

Shego's mouth hung open as she listened. Then she rallied, and was about to deny everything they'd heard, when Wade saved her the trouble. "Faked!" He declared, "But a standard voice print check would be fooled!" The screen suddenly reverted to normal.

Charley nodded. "What we just saw was what was supposed to go on the website! But someone pulled a switch, and restored the picture with the real audio! Our foe is probably none too pleased right now!"

Now Shego was seriously confused. "Okay, I get that that would have been major trouble for us, but where did you get that, Ner...Wade?"

"I didn't! That didn't come from the website at all!"

"No, it didn't!" Charley stated. "There was an Ar'Ithane here, just before it came up." She frowned, "But it was a regressing one, almost a juvenile!"

Comprehension dawned on Shego's face. "It was her!"

Charley looked at her curiously, and Shego nodded grimly. "You're right, Charley, we need to get everyone together and talk this out!"

Charley nodded back, and looked at Wade. "Do you and your Mom want to come to GJ HQ? It might be safer." Both Loads shook their heads in unison. "No Thanks, we're fine here!" Wade answered with a grin.

"Against someone with a stealth bomber?" Incongruously, Wade's grin widened, and he nodded. Mrs Load didn't look worried, either. Shego and Charley looked at each other, then shrugged.

000000000000

An hour later, seated in the fourth level's lounge, Betty Director received word of Shego's return. She was keeping an eye on Kim, who seemed to be just going through the motions of living. She hadn't said a word since seeing some of the online video of her and Shego, and had no opinion as to who had shot it, except to suggest that the Rani had, but how it had gotten out she didn't know. "_And in a way, I don't think she cares where the blows are coming from, anymore, she's just letting them fall. But after the day she's been through! Correction, Days!"_

Conspicuous by his absence was Ron Stoppable. He had gone straight to a room assigned to him, accompanied by Rufus. "_He asked if Kim was okay when he came back, but that's all! Something serious must be eating at that boy to cause him to avoid Kim like this!"_ The Reeder sisters were currently entertaining Amy, though the little girl could clearly see her mother sitting dejectedly nearby, and was proving hard to cheer up.

Abby walked in, back in uniform, and was greeted as 'Aunt Abby' by the Reeders, who got a stern look in return, before Abby gave them each a hug. This was followed ten minutes later by Charley's appearance, and a great deal of happiness ensued, which even made Kim smile, and Amy start kicking her legs, making a happy enough noise to draw her mother to her. As she picked her daughter up, Kim looked to Shego who was standing at the door holding Milly. Walking over, she whispered, "Won't be any formula ready for their feeding, sorry. I didn't think of it, with all that happened!"

"No big, Princess. I'll meet you at your room in say, thirty minutes? Something I'd like to do, think Amy can wait that long?" Kim looked curious, but merely nodded. Charley pried herself away from her friends, and indicated to Doctor Director a desire to get away from the crowd. The two soon met Shego and Milly two doors down, in a small office currently unoccupied.

Twenty minutes later, Doctor Director returned to the lounge, signaled Abby to accompany her, and headed for her office. "We're both doing some more traveling, Ab. Arrange a flight for me tonight, to Washington DC.. Going to set up a couple of meetings there myself. I need you to go check out a few facts, too, and would rather it be in person, if at all possible! And another thing, those three new skulls? Be careful what you do around them...provided you can even see the damn things!"

0000000000

Shego, accompanied by a GJ guard, came to the open door of Kim's assigned room. The girl was sitting on her bed, still looking despondent. Amy lay besides her, feet kicking, eyes on her mother, a slight frown on her little face. Shego turned to the guard. "Which room is mine?" The guard indicated the next door down. Shego entered, and found a crib set up inside. "_Ha! Is this payback for down south, or...are they just trying to give Kim a break?" _Entering the bathroom, she grabbed one large towel and one hand towel, then went back to Kim's room.

The girl looked up as Shego closed the door behind her. Shego set Milly down next to her sister, noting that her little one was getting cranky, too. She then began taking her clothes off. Kim's eyes widened, but she remained silent. Stripping to the waist, Shego draped the towel around her shoulders, then sat on the bed and picked Milly up, looking at Kim. "I figure you have maybe three minutes until Mount St. Amy erupts, you've been ignoring her non-verbal requests long enough!"

Startled, Kim leaped to her feet and went into the bathroom, trying to undo buttons and grab towels at the same time. Somehow she managed to make it all twice as hard as necessary, but still had Amy nicely situated for a late dinner in a few minutes.

After a couple of moment's silence, Shego tore her eyes from Milly to look at Kim. "Well? Any one specific problem biting you, or is the sum total weighing you down?"

Kim was silent a moment, then quietly said, "I just want to go home, I just want to lay down in my own bed again, with Amy there, Mom and Dad downstairs, even the Tweebs being around would be nice! I want Ron to talk to me, but he won't! For some reason, he's avoiding me!"

"He have another vision, maybe? Or the same one we had, from another angle? I mean, we all died, but he didn't, I hope! I mean..." She trailed off as Kim's face paled slightly. "What's wrong? Are you sick?"

Kim shook her head. "No, but maybe Ron is! He must have experienced the same vision, but from outside Go Tower! Shego, he may have felt me die, or rather, felt how he...Ron...you know what I mean!" She hissed quietly.

Shego nodded. "He experienced how he'd feel if you died! That had to have shaken him up!"

"I have to talk to him." Kim said this quietly, without enthusiasm, or the concern Shego would have expected.

She eyed the girl worriedly. "Okay, but not tonight, you're so tired, you might make a hash of it, Kimmie." After a moment, the girl nodded.

They remained silent until it seemed a good time to shift the babies, when Shego almost timidly asked, "Do you think it would be all right to...you know, switch?" Kim looked mildly surprised, looking down at Amy for a moment. "Maybe we should ask them." she replied with a slight smile.

Shego looked down at the still-suckling Milly. "How about it, Frog? Want to try Mommy Kimmie's milk? Might be a little too sweet for you, she's so full of..." "Shego!" The thief grinned, then looked worried. "Um, Okay, how do we do this? Setting either one down will start some wailing, and if one starts, the other will go off, too!" It took a bit of maneuvering, but the little girls were exchanged, and seemed to have no objections to the new arrangement. "Of course, if they get gassy tonight, they'll be in with you, Ana." Kim pointed out.

Shego gave her a suspicious look. "Yeah, how did that happen, anyway?"

Kim smiled for a moment, then dropped it. "They're afraid if the babies start crying, I might reactivate that damn venom again! But listen, I'll help with the feeding, when they get you up in the wee hours, I promise!"

"Don't sweat it, Pumpkin, you need more sleep then I do, lately. We're going to have a busy day, tomorrow, at least when Betts and Abby get back from their trips. Story-telling and deduction, until we figure out who's behind all this, and how to stop him!"

Feeding done, they burped both babies, and changed their diapers. Kim removed the rest of her clothes and put her robe on, without bothering to hide herself, while Shego put her blouse back on, then they took the girls to Shego's room, and set them down in the crib, after a kiss per girl from each woman. Shego then took Kim back to her room, where she shucked her robe without a word and climbed under the covers. If she stayed conscious a second after her head hit the pillow, Shego couldn't tell. She leaned down and kissed Kim on the forehead, then slipped quietly out.

0000000000

Charley Cob sat on her bunk, as JJ slept in hers. She looked at the four skulls waiting for her to speak. Finally, she sighed. "Okay, boys, listen carefully!" She then spoke slowly and quietly. "Priority Override, Charley Sez!" All four seemed to come to attention. "Okay, Reset!" For a few minutes, nothing happened, then Roy began to vibrate, eyes flashing. "Calm down, it's all right! We'll settle all of this tomorrow, hopefully!" Charley assured him grimly.

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Please, Read and Review!


	24. Restless Night

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

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"**Thanks again for the ride, Mister Bradford, it made getting here a whole lot easier!" Kim smiled at the pilot of the small cargo plane, a middle-aged man with a friendly smile, and a generous nature. **

"**It's no problem at all, Miss Possible, after what you did for me last spring!"**

"**No Big!" Kim replied, as she looked out the windshield at the jungle rushing past below, "Anyone could have..." Her eyes grew as big as saucers. "Look Out, Mister Bradford!" Not that there was anything he could have done to avoid the missile rising up out of the trees and heading right for them. "Ron! Hang on!"**

"**Ohmigod, Ohmigod, Ohmigod!" Mister Bradford pulled back on the control column, trying to pull the plane up higher, but then the missile's proximity warhead detonated. Shrapnel ripped through the cabin, and Kim felt pain blossoming on several parts of her body. Even before she looked across at the pilot, she knew he'd been hit, as the plane's nose fell off to the left. She reached out and grabbed the controls, ignoring a sharp pain in her left elbow, and tried to remember everything she'd learned at flight school. **

"**Kim!" Came Ron's voice from the back, a voice full of pain, and Kim almost lost focus. "Ron! Stay strapped in, I'm going to try and land!" Now she looked to her left, and wished she hadn't. Her head swam with pain and nausea, and it took all her efforts to right the plane, and not pass out. They were right in the trees, the little village she'd wanted to land near just visible ahead. She tried to lower the landing gear, suddenly suffered a tremendous jolt of pain from her left leg, and grayed out briefly. As her vision cleared, she heard the engines stalling.**

**Not that it mattered, she was about to fly between two trees far too close together for the plane to pass through. The right wing hit one trunk, and the plane began to spin to the right, only to have the left wing hit the second tree. After that, everything went abruptly black...**

0000000000

Kim opened her eyes, chest heaving, body coated with perspiration. She'd kicked her covers off, and felt an immediate chill. "_Naked? Did I? Oh, yes I did!" _She grabbed the blanket, and pulled it back over her body. "_Vision. Or dream? Vision! That's how Ron and I got so messed up, someone shot us down! And Mister Bradford...Oh, God! I Never, ever even thought of that happening!"_ Kim felt sick, and considered a dash to the bathroom, when something banished her symptoms. Noises from next door, sounds she knew were made by Shego and the babies.

Throwing the covers off, she gingerly stood up, and picked up her robe. Luckily no one was outside her room, as she had the door open before she had the robe completely on, and was still tying the belt when she walked into Shego's room without knocking. Shego looked up in surprise, and Kim was immediately contrite. "Oh! Sorry, too sleepy to think!" Shego was holding Milly, feeding her from a bottle, while Amy fussed in the crib, waiting for her turn.

"I was going to let you sleep, Princess, I can handle this myself." Shego had on a knee length nightshirt, and had a seriously lopsided case of bedhead, the hair on the left side of her head sticking well above the right. Kim felt herself grinning at the sight, even as she went to the crib and bent to pick up Amy. And lost her balance. She pushed herself away from the crib, to avoid falling in it, and landed hard on her backside next to the bed. "Kim! You okay?"

"I'm fine!" Kim pushed herself up onto the bed. "Don't know what happened there, loss of equilibrium, or something!" Momentarily quieted by her appearing/disappearing mother, Amy started to get more strident in her demands for a little food and attention. "Can you hold Milly, Kim?" Shego asked cautiously. After a brief glare at the woman, Kim dropped her eyes and nodded. Shego handed baby and bottle over, then took Amy out of the crib and gave her what she wanted.

Letting the sight of her girls calm her nerves, Kim was silent for several minutes, as Shego kept a close watch on her, while humming a song Kim didn't recognize to the babies. Sitting down on the bed besides her, Shego gave her a questioning look. "Did we wake you up, or was it something else?"

Kim sighed quietly. "Another vision. Going on a mission in some tropical location. I was pretty excited, must have been a supervillain thing. Then someone shot the plane down, and killed a nice old man who owed me such a small favor, I...never thought of that happening, Shego! Someone helping me, and getting hurt because of it!" She tried to rein in her emotions, afraid she'd upset Milly, but couldn't stop tears from flowing down her cheeks.

"I don't know all the visions you had, Kimmie. Does this one tie into the ones we didn't share, or you didn't tell me about?" If Shego had had a hand free, she might have tried hugging the girl, or at least taken her hand.

Kim nodded, and told Shego about the 'first day of school' one. Shego frowned. "So, you think this crash is what messed you up so badly you missed a big chunk of school?"

"Well, if this isn't all a figment of our collective imaginations, I'd have to say yes!" She looked down. "Done here, where's a towel?" Shego handed her one to drape over her shoulder while she burped Milly. By the time Kim had managed to get a satisfactory 'croak' from the dark haired girl, Amy was ready for the same.

Eventually, both babies were back asleep in their crib. Kim eyed the door, trying to summon enough strength to stand up and return to her own room. "I don't know if I can stand, let alone make it back to my bed!"

"You don't have to Princess, just lay down here, I won't bite!"

Kim smirked. "That might be awkweird to explain!" She frowned "Ron would have had that vision, too! I have to go see if he's upset, he'd do the same for me!" But when Kim tried to stand, her knees gave out, and she only managed to hit the floor. "Kim!" Shego exclaimed, trying to moderate her voice. And then the door flew open, and Ron was there, wearing blue sweats labeled 'Global Justice'. "KP!" He knelt besides her, while throwing a hasty apology to Shego, who knelt on the other side of Kim. "I was coming to see her, and heard your voices, I wasn't eavesdropping, honest!"

"It's Okay, Stoppable! Kimmie, what's wrong? Do you want to go to the infirmary?"

Kim was laying with one cheek pressed against the floor. "I don't know, I feel kind of...cold, actually. Don't seem to have any energy at all, suddenly!" She closed her eyes. "Just let me lay here a while, please and thank you."

"Oh, No! You're cold because you're lying on the floor, rug, insulation, and all! I think we need to wake up one of the doctors...wait a moment, let me try something!" She raised her right hand, fingers spread, and summoned her power. Ron flinched reflexively. After a moment's concentration, Shego reached towards Kim with the lit hand.

"What are you doing!?" Ron hissed.

"Don't worry, Stoppable, Kimmie's immune to my plasma now!" Shego responded quietly, with a quick glance at the crib. She then brought her hand down in the crook of Kim's neck, extending her fingers along the girl's jawline.

Ron's eyes widened as he saw the green plasma flow across Kim's face, and down under her robe. When it appeared out of the sleeve he could see, covering her hand, he almost reached out to touch it. But then deciding against being that foolish, he looked at Kim's legs beneath the hem of her robe, and sure enough, the green fire soon appeared, and spread out to cover all her exposed skin. Where his own hand rested close to Kim's, he felt warmth radiating from the girl, more then her normal body heat. "Oh! That feels so good!" Kim muttered.

"Wow! Feels like she's actually absorbing the plasma!" Shego exclaimed wonderingly. Then she frowned. "_I hope...she couldn't actually need this? When I healed her, that first time, it was a lot of healing to do, I hope she hasn't become dependent on my power, that could complicate things badly!"_

After a few minutes, Kim opened her eyes, and turned halfway over to look at Shego behind her. Ron averted his eyes as her robe gaped a little more then he was comfortable with. Shego broke contact, and the green faded from, or was absorbed by, Kim's skin. "What just happened?" Kim asked. She seemed fully awake now, not necessarily the best thing at three in the morning, but definitely an improvement.

"I think you just saw the last of that venom in your system." Came a voice from the still open door. The three turned to see Charley standing there, in her robe and bracer, Saul hovering at her shoulder. "But to be sure, can I scan your system and see if it's all gone, now that I know what to look for?"

"Please and Thank You! But, how did you know to come here?" Charley pointed over Shego's head. Roy uncloaked hovering above the crib. "He can't stay away from the babies, and it's not a bad idea to have him around them, either!" She turned her attention to her bracer as she stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. Saul did the scanning, as Kim tightened her robe's sash, having become aware of her exposure.

Charley smiled at the results. "Yep, all gone! Everything else is...well, not fine, you're still slightly malnourished, but that should be gone soon! And you can use a few pounds on you, so I think you might want to indulge a few cravings while you have a good excuse to do so!"

Kim grinned. "Cravings, huh?" A soft noise from the crib made her tense, as everyone peered towards it, seeing if they'd disturbed either girl. Kim looked back at Charley again, a hesitant frown on her face. "Um, me and Ron had another vision, one that seems to have taken place before the others."

"Really? Why...oh, wait! Let's not start swapping stories when we need sleep! We'd just have to repeat them tomorrow when we're all together!" Charley observed regretfully.

Kim stood up. "Yep, think I need to get back to my bed, even though I'm not at all sleepy!" She looked at Shego thoughtfully. "I think you did more than just help me get my head back in order, I feel...energized?"

Shego smirked and shrugged, "Hey, I always had that effect on you, Princess, one way or the other!"

Kim nodded, but she had noticed a subtle shift in Shego. "_Something is bothering her about what just happened! Wish I could figure it out!"_

"Yeah, Well!" Ron stammered, "Guess I had better get back to my room, let you guys get some sleep!"

"Wait, Ron!" Kim put one hand on her best friend's arm. "You had the same vision as me, that's why you came, wasn't it?" Before he could reply, she added, "And the last one, where I..."

"I can't talk about it tonight, KP, I was wrong to come!" He pulled away from her, turned and left the room. Kim didn't move, except to wrap her arms tightly around herself. Charley closed the door behind her as she, too, left. Shego stepped forward, and after a moment's hesitation, wrapped her arms around Kim from behind. "Why don't you stay here tonight? It's not like I'm making a pass at you, and with all these weird visions, even I'm scared to sleep alone!"

Kim snorted. "You are so full of..." Her voice trailed off, and her head drooped. "You're right, I don't want to be alone right now. But, heh, why am I not weirded out by the idea of sleeping with you?"

"Because, Princess, we are _just_ going to be sleeping! Nothing really to get weirded out about, at all!" She pulled the girl towards the bed, sliding in under the covers, and pulling an unresisting Kim down with her. They lay spoon fashion, with Shego feeling the wall uncomfortably close to her butt, but the bed wasn't meant for two, after all. She reached up and turned out the lights. "'Night, Kimmie."

"Night, Ana."

Ron was almost to his room when he realized Charley was following him. He stopped and turned to face her curiously. She gave him a wan smile. "Not hard to figure what your end of the 'tower' vision was, Ron. Was it very bad?"

He almost refused to discuss it, but paused, then nodded. "I never thought I could feel that bad! I'm scared of feeling like that!"

Charley nodded sympathetically. "But you will, one day. Either for Kim, or your parents, or someone you love deeply. If you love, you have to risk pain, Ron, that's the way it is! The question is, is knowing Kim, for any amount of time, worth the pain to you?"

Ron stood silently for a minute, then slowly nodded. "Yes! She's worth it, just to have been her friend all these years! Even knowing how much I'll miss her, I wouldn't go back and change a thing, Charley!"

Charley's smile brightened. "Good! One thing, though, you may have felt so bad because you had no idea how to go on without her, Ron! You really need to think about that, you have to start making your own life, one less involved with her. Don't misunderstand me..." Ron held up a hand to stop her.

"I understand! Man, do I understand! But, no matter what I do with my life, losing her will hurt me as bad as losing my mom or dad, losing Hana, Rufus...I love them all so much, and that's what you mean, deeper the love, greater the hurt."

Charley clapped him on the shoulder. "Yeah, it's not fair, but there it is, right?" She covered her mouth as she yawned. "Whoa! Guess I better get back to bed, myself! 'night, Ron!"

"Goodnight, Charley!"

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"**I suppose you're here to gloat?" Shego glared up from her recliner at the four girls standing next to it, "I heard you rescued Junior just fine without me!" A warm breeze blew in off the Aegean, the sun was shining, and Shego's mood had still been foul, before these **_**kids**_ **had shown up.**

"**No, Ma'am." Charley Cob replied quietly. She didn't notice, or ignored, Shego's wince at her choice of address. "We just wanted to tell you the whole business was all a trap, for you!"**

**Shego tilted her sunglasses down. "Excuse me? A trap for me? How do you figure that?"**

"**Someone knew who Senor Senior Senior would hire to rescue his kidnapped son, so he used Junior as bait to get you!" **

**Either Charley and her friends had no fashion sense, or a very limited wardrobe, Shego didn't know which, but their clothes made them stand out like sore thumbs around the Spa pool. "Yeah, right! He ticked off one of the richest bad guys in the world, to get me! Try pulling the other one, or better yet, just get lost!" She snapped sarcastically.**

"**He had nothing to lose! He was in a life-support bed, the only living thing in the mansion, besides Junior! There was enough explosives under the place to turn it to rubble outright, and he had his finger on the trigger, watching the video monitors in Junior's cell just waiting for you! I've got an image of his face, if you want to try and recognize it?"**

**Shego frowned, emotions warring on her face, but finally nodded. Charley put her bracer on her arm, then shaded it as much as possible so the holographic image that started rotating above it was clear to Shego. At first, the thief was ready to deny recognition, but then she saw the eyes..."Hold it! Let me see his face, straight on!" Charlie complied. Shego stared at the image for a moment, then made a dismissive gesture. "Yeah, I knew him, but I didn't think he'd take our parting this hard! Nothing to lose, you say?"**

"**I don't think he had a week to live, if that! So many different things killing him at once...unless he pushed the button after we got Junior out!"**

**Shego grunted. "So, I guess you did all right without me, after all?"**

"**It was your decision, we would have taken orders from you if you'd taken the job, Ma'am!"**

"**Don't call me that! And I don't like working on a team, or with one! I've heard of you four, a few rumors here and there, but it didn't matter what your rep was, I work with who I choose, not who I'm told to! What did Triple-S do for your payment?"**

"**We needed documentation. And a place to live, and go to school. He decided that the best place for that was a town in Colorado, in the US."**

**Shego's eyes widened. "Colorado? Seriously?"**

**Charley looked wary. "Yes, is something wrong with Colorado?"**

"**No, no! I just think I may have underestimated the old guy's sense of the bizarre!"**

0000000000

Shego gazed into the darkness, Kim sleeping quietly beside her. "_Better check on old Cabrera's status, in case he's gunning for me here, too!" _She laid her head down on the pillow, pushing some of Kim's hair aside. "_So, that's how the girls got to Middleton, and ended up saving Kimmie and Ron? Got to be more to it, though!"_

0000000000

"**What do you mean, you were 'watching out' for me!?" Kim shouted. **

**Both her parents frowned at her outburst, but Charley, at who it waas directed, didn't flinch. "I didn't mean it that way! We were keeping an eye on you, because we didn't want you getting hurt! No, I mean...I made a mistake, okay! I thought you could handle...Oh, Frakkit! It wasn't my responsibility, but I still think I could have done more to spare you what happened, okay?"**

"**No, it wasn't **_**your**_** responsibility, it was mine! My silly notion that I could do missions again, my idiot idea that I hadn't lost my nerve, or my common sense, whatever!" Kim paused to take a breath. "I nearly got Ron killed, and Rufus barbecued, because I couldn't see the truth! I'm done, that's all!" She turned and limped up the stairs to her room.**

"**She may not have meant any of that, Miss Cob." Anne Possible said, "I really wouldn't take her seriously! I want to thank you, and your friends, for saving her! And if there is ever anything we can do for you, just ask!"**

**Charley smiled and shook her head. "Not necessary, Mrs Possible, It's what we do!"**

**At the top of the stairs, Kim crouched, anger dissipated, hugging herself, and listening, as her eyes filled with tears...**

0000000000

Kim opened her eyes, and listened to Shego's breathing. She seemed to be asleep, and Kim thought briefly of slipping out of the bed and returning to her own. But a soft sound from the crib drew her attention. "_No, I'd rather be here, with my girls!"_ Whether or not that included Shego didn't occur to her.

0000000000

"**Doctor D?" Shego advanced slowly through the lair, stealth abandoned out of concern for her employer. She could smell blood, fresh blood, and was beginning to fear for Drakken's life. "Doc?" A cough drew her attention to a worktable, and she spotted a huddled form on the far side. She circled the table quickly, and looked down in horror. "Oh, God!"**

"**Shego?" The voice was barely audible. She knelt, taking Drakken's head into her lap, ignoring the blood pooling on the floor, now seeping into her clothes. "Doc! Who did this to you? What happened to the henchmen?"**

"**Dead, Red..." He actually chuckled, before another cough broke it up. "Red-striped face...he asked if I was ashamed of them, so small...then he cut them off! Shego, please, Mother...She mustn't find out how it happened, promise me you'll take care of it!"**

"**I will, Doc! But why did he do it?" No answer came. "Doc? Damn it, Drakken! Don't make me care!" But the blue scientist was beyond hearing. Shego gently lowered his head to the floor, then stood abruptly. Her gaze swept the lair, before fixing on a sight that made her sick and angry at the same time. "_He nailed them to the wall! He is so going to hurt when I get to him! Why the hell couldn't Kimmie put that bastard away!" _Suddenly feeling an urgency she couldn't explain, Shego pulled out her cellphone and dialed a number...**

"**I'm sorry, but Mrs Lipsky is under sedation, some terrible person sent her a very disturbing video an hour ago, are you a friend of her son, we really need to talk with him!" Shego stared at the phone for a moment, then hung up. "**_**Bastard!" **_**Her eyes happened to fall on the two prosthetics Drakken used to disguise his undersized hands when he went to see his mother. And she lost it, whirling to fall to her knees in one corner, the contents of her stomach spewing out on the floor.**

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"Damn Visions!" Shego muttered. Kim shifted next to her. "Tell me about it!" the teen replied with asperity.

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**Ron lay on his side, arms wrapped around a warm, naked body. She wasn't moving, and seemed somehow to be withdrawn. "Are you all right? Did I hurt you?"** _"Gah! Couldn't I have come up with something more original?"_

"**No! You were fine Ron, it's just...I was right before, this didn't help, I feel like I used you!" She shifted enough to turn her head and look him in the eyes. "Thank you for caring, for everything, but I can't help but think..." **

**He silenced her with a finger on her lips. **"**It's Okay, Charley."**

0000000000

"Whoa, didn't see that one coming..."

"Well, that's going to complicate things..."

0000000000

"**Did you leave a note?" Startled, Kim spun away from her contemplation of the sheer drop in front of her. Charley was standing ten feet to her left, looking bemused. "I didn't bother, myself, not sure what I'd put in it!"**

**The last words stifled the anger rising in Kim, anger at another intrusion in her business. "What? You mean, you...Why?" She asked, suspiciously.**

**Charley shrugged. "I made love for the first time, two hours ago, and it didn't change me. It meant nothing, it didn't register at all, I still feel like...nothing, nobody!" She looked back at the tracks she'd left in the snow. "I didn't even see you until I reached the edge myself."**

**Kim looked askance at her. "Are you making this up? Trying to make me...make me...Ohhh!" She abruptly stepped back from the edge.**

**Charley shook her head. "No, I'm not!" She shook her head, "What a pair we are, putting so much value in helping others, and giving none to ourselves!"**

"**POSSIBLE!" Shego's voice boomed down on them from above. Both girls looked up to see a hovercraft descending, too fast for safety. It crunched into the snow, and Shego leaped out, heading right for Kim, who almost took a step back, before she remembered the consequences of such an action.**

"**Doctor D is dead!" Shego shouted, only feet from Kim, "That red-striped bastard you couldn't stop chopped his hands off, and left him to bleed to death!" Kim paled, and swayed dizzily.**

**Shego suddenly looked down, and saw how close the girl's feet were to the edge. She lunged forwards, grabbing Kim, and pulling her away from the precipice. "What the HELL were you doing?" Shego's eyes showed clearly that she knew full well what was going on. She turned to glare at Charley. "And what were you doing, just standing there?"**

**Charley shrugged. "Trying to decide whether to jump first, so she could see how messy it would be, or let her go first, since she got here first!"**

**Shego looked back and forth between the two, before announcing angrily, "Neither of you idiots is going to kill yourselves, until you help me find that Bastard! If you try something like this before I get a hold of him, I'll kill you...No, wait, I mean...What are you laughing about, Possible, you were about to kill yourself!"**

0000000000

"The less said about that one, the better, I think!"

"Deal, Princess!" Then Shego went rigid. "Oh, hell! The Doc, if he had the same vision I did before...let me up, Princess, hurry!" Kim tumbled out of the bed, as Shego fought clear of the covers and stood, then looked down at herself. "Damn! I didn't ask for a robe, I can't run around like this!"

"Here, use mine!" Kim had it off, and Shego had it half-on, before the thief realized what was happening. "Hey! Taking this 'comfortable' thing a bit too far, aren't we?"

Kim shook her head, "Just go see if Drakken's okay, will ya?"

0000000000

Outside the base, technicians labored to repair the defense turrets, while others were studying the warped main doors, assessing the difficulty involved in restoring them. Others were just finishing up hauling the last of the bogus WWEE craft, covered with canvas, onto a tractor-drawn flatbed trailer. The wooded hill Shego and the others had sheltered on sat directly between the main entrance and the hangar, so the tractor had to follow a round-about route to reach it. Tracks from it's previous two round trips were plainly evident to a watcher amongst the trees to the east.

"_Just as we were told! Global Justice's Main base in North America, as vulnerable as it's ever been!" _Wary of the pairs of GJ Tactical agents patrolling around the activity below, the watcher slipped down from the tree he'd partially climbed to get a look down the ramp, and withdrew into the woods to report.

0000000000

Shego strode down the main hall of the accommodation section, until she came to the Reception/Security desk. One of the two agents manning it was a very tall and thin African-American male. He saw her coming, and put one hand on the alarm buzzer before addressing her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I need to know has there been an alarm in the detention section, a problem with Doctor Drakken that you know of?"

The agent eyed her warily. "Why do you need to know? Is this some set-up to bust him out?"

"I have never busted him out of Global Justice's custody, and I am not going to start now, with my daughter on the premises!" Shego replied hotly. Before the agent could reply, or press the buzzer, a voice behind Shego spoke. "It's all right, Agent Waller, I'll take responsibility, and take her down." Shego turned to see a slender brunette, obviously just awakened, wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt under a white Doctor's coat, watching her through a pair of bifocals.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Doctor Prior?" Waller asked, dubiously.

"Yes, I do!" Prior looked at Shego, "Your word this isn't some trick?" Shego nodded emphatically, clearly impatient. "All right, let's go!" She led Shego towards the elevators.

Behind them, Waller took his finger off the buzzer and looked at his fellow agent. "I took this job just so I didn't have to work for my big sister, now I'm wondering if it was a big mistake!"

The aptly named Bradley Bars, the Supervising Agent in charge of the detention section, looked up as the elevator doors opened. "Doctor Prior! Glad you're here..." He broke off at the sight of Shego, and he too found his hand reaching for the nearest alarm button, despite the presence of nine more agents summoned to the Detention Level, the next to lowest in the facility. "Why is she here?"

"She's with me, Brad! Now, let us in to Doctor Drakken's cell, he doesn't handle nightmares well, and this one was a doozy!" Shego had briefed her on the 'vision' she may have shared with Drakken on the way down.

Bars frowned. "How would you know that, doc? This could be just a trick, a scheme cooked up between the two of them!" Shego rolled her eyes, while Prior replied, "It's not a scheme, Supervising Agent Bars! I know what's going on, trust me!" She relented slightly at his still dubious look. "Send two agents in with us, and keep your finger on the lock-down button, if you insist!" Bars hesitated, but then nodded reluctantly.

Drakken was huddled on his bed, covers pulled up around him, eyes glassy, and hyperventilating, as near as Shego could tell. "_How long ago did I have that vision? Minutes, hours? No, they wouldn't have left him like this that long!"_ She approached the shivering scientist, speaking softly. "Doctor D? Calm down, you're all right now, just relax." She resisted the impulse to reach out and touch him, he sometimes had bad reactions to such contact when he was unfocused like this.

After a moment, Drakken's eyes focused on her, and he stopped shivering. "Shego? Did I wake you? I had a terrible nightmare...except...it was so real! I felt...everything!"

He shuddered, as Shego put her hands on his. "It's okay Doc, you're fine now! Except, it wasn't really a dream! I had the same vision, because someone is out there breaking some rules of physics!"

Drakken became more alert, his scientific curiosity helping to banish his remaining fear. He looked around, remembering his surroundings. "Oh! For a moment...rules? Which ones? Ah, let me guess, this involves time travel, doesn't it?" He 'zoned out' for a few moments, thinking. "Aha! An alternate future, now undone?" A frown appeared, "But that would mean that the man who...he actually exists!"

"Maybe, Doc, we're not sure yet!" Drakken nodded, still frowning, then looked Shego in the eye. "I asked you to get word to mother, before she found out the truth, did you?" When Shego looked away, he misunderstood. "You didn't! You couldn't honor a dying wish! Shego, I never..."

"Doc! Hold up! I tried, I just didn't want to tell you...he got to her first, sent her some kind of video, I can only guess what was on it..." An appalled look crossed Drakken's face, to be quickly replaced by one of rage.

The guards shifted uneasily, but Prior signaled them to relax, then addressed Drakken. "Doctor, do you want to talk about this tonight?"

Drakken blinked, and his rage vanished. "Um, no, Doctor Prior, not tonight, thank you, I'd rather just try and get some sleep."

"Would you like a sedative? Just a mild one?" Drakken thought about it briefly, then nodded to her, "Yes, thank you, I would." He looked at Shego. "Thank You for coming, sorry I snapped at you! I just assumed...how appalling, that I can't trust you, after all these years!"

"It's Okay, Doc, until recently, I wasn't all that trustworthy, outside of the terms of my contract! You want me to stay here, until you get back to sleep?" Drakken smiled and shook his head. "No, no, I'm sure...Oh, is your child here, as well?"

"Upstairs, Kim is looking after them both. I need to get back, though, she's not in the best health, lately." Drakken nodded, "I quite understand! You go back to your own bed, I'll be fine, as long as I don't have any more of these 'visions'."

"Can't guarantee you won't, Doc. Anyway, Goodnight, sleep tight!" Drakken beamed at her, it was the first time she'd said those words, which he'd once asked her to do when she said goodnight. "Thank You, Shego, you and yours sleep well!"

Shego was actually in the elevator when the next vision hit...

0000000000

"**Kind of silly, spending so much on a swimsuit, and only wearing half of it!" Charley Cob reclined on a beach chair next to Shego, spreading suntan oil on.**

**The Aegean breeze was still warm, and they were located next to a large pool area with a great view. A fair crowd of locals and tourists surrounded them, and Charley's three friends mingled with them.**

"**Well, remember, some places in the world you'll have to wear both pieces, to avoid being arrested!" Shego took a sip of her slightly too fruity drink, and sighed. "Anyway, now the four of you don't stick out in this crowd! Not that your friends aren't still the center of attention!"**

**Charley looked over at the nearest cluster of people, centered around the twins. **"**Yeah, but too many guys paying attention to JJ, and too many girls to Belle and Beth!" **

**Shego squinted at the twins. "That Tat...is that Belle?" Charley nodded. "Well, I've never seen a tattoo that could catch the light quite that way, where'd she get it?"**

"**Oh, well, that would be hard to explain!" Charley noticed a tall Greek woman with a generous figure talking to JJ. As she watched, the woman raised her hand and ran two fingers through JJ's 'blue streak'. The one on her head, that is. "Hmm, JJ's found a friend!" **

**Shego nodded, sipping her drink again, then she set it down and turned towards Charley, who had finished oiling up and was relaxing. **"**There are a few governments interested in you four, almost as much as they are me, which is kind of weird, since you haven't committed any crimes. Except perhaps getting in and out of their countries without leaving any record of it! And, how did you get Junior out of that house, anyway?" **

**Charley grinned. "Sorry, trade secret!" Then her expression darkened, "Someone working for that man planted three nanobombs in Junior, in his brain, his heart, and his spine. None lethal, but they would have done permanent damage if they'd been detonated. Luckily, we got them out before that could happen."**

"**Damn! Maybe it was better that you went instead of me, and not just for my own sake!" Shego noticed one familiar face had disappeared. "Well, you were right, your friend did get lucky! Wonder why no one is bothering you?"**

"**Because I'm not that attractive, or because I'm laying next to you, or some combination of the two, I'd guess!" Charley reached for her own drink without opening her eyes, picked it up without groping for it, and took a sip. "Maybe they think I'm with you?"**

**Shego snorted. "Maybe, but don't expect it to last! Soon as a little more **_**ouzo**_ **flows, someone will be over here, hitting on both of us!"**

"**I hope not! I'd rather be ignored."**

0000000000

Charley opened her eyes, and reached for the light switch, flicking it on to reveal JJ awake, and looking at her. The redhead managed to wince and blush at the same time. "Ow! That ended a little too soon, from my point of view!"

"I'm sure!" Charley then shifted her gaze to the door, and JJ followed it to find they had company. "Oh, Great! What do you want, now?" She was addressing a very haggard version of Steven Barkin, that possessed a haunted look in his eyes.

"I have...I have to talk to you, things have gone terribly wrong!"

Charley regarded him dispassionately. "Yes, I guessed that. Where are all your fellow interventionists? And, why is there a regressing juvenile here all alone?"

"She...I guess you would call her my niece. She won't trust me anymore, I can't save her! The others...are trapped, only I escaped! I thought...I checked his DNA, but it _can't_ be him! One aberrant regeneration could have occurred, but he's continuing to do evil, not making up for his previous acts!"

Charley nodded. "I figured that you had been deceived in some way. Your role in his scheme was to plant suggestions in our minds, and gain our trust?"

He looked embarassed as he replied "Yes, that was our role, but believe me, we never meant you any harm! He said it was to keep you from harm, getting involved in something you didn't understand! When his actions became questionable and we expressed too many doubts, he revealed himself to be our enemy, by trapping my fellows." His tone was one of defeat, while pleading for understanding.

Charley looked skeptical at that statement, but decided not to question it for the moment. Instead she sought clarification of another point. "But before that, you planted his version of my boys on us? Does he control them the same way as I do?"

"Yes, we did, but no, he has another method, but he kept it concealed from us." He looked guiltily down at his feet. "Now we know why, his body changes..."

"Is he a Time Lord?" JJ asked.

'Barkin' shook his head. "I honestly don't know!"

Believing him for some reason, Charley shifted topics. "What about the new equipment you gave us, anything we should know about it?"

"Well, it was created by us, so it needs to be near one of our power sources to remain coherent. Otherwise, it breaks down into it's component molecules."

"How Close?" Charley asked.

"Oh, 120,000 kilometers is sufficient." He replied matter-of-factly.

Both girls looked at him incredulously, but then Charley shook her head. "Wasn't planning any long trips, anyway." Then she looked intently at their visitor. "Are you oath bound to our foe?" He hesitated, then nodded. "Can you reveal his identity, the one he's currently living under?" 'Barkin' shook his head. "Thought he'd think of that!" Charley thought a moment before resuming, "What about his plan? No wait, obviously he didn't tell you the truth about that in the first place! Well, is there anything you can tell us of use to us?"

"Well, yes, you might be interested to know..."

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Shego entered her room and came to a sudden halt, then quietly closed the door. Kim was kneeling on the floor, both arms raised over her head, resting them on the railing of the crib, her face against the bars, just gazing within. Shego removed the robe, and stepped forward, trying to figure out how to cover Kim with it. Before she could make a comment about Kim catching a cold, the girl forestalled her by speaking.

"Do you think it's the same, Ana?" she asked, quietly. "I mean, my mother has told me about carrying me, all those months, and feeling a bond forming between us, even before I was born! Is this the same? I don't have that experience, everything went by so fast, do we have that bond?" She never took her eyes off the babies as she spoke, her voice starting to tremble.

Shego knelt behind her, trying to tuck the robe around her shoulders. "Don't you feel it when you look at them, Kimmie? I do, and I don't know how it could be more intense, it's so strong already!" Kim removed her arms from the railing, and sat back on her calves, leaning back into Shego. The woman put the robe around her, while looking past her at the sleeping babies. "I know you feel it, you felt it in the tank, you knew they were yours...ours even then, when I didn't! That hurt me, remember? But now, I feel it, no imagination, no doubts!"

"I know. It's just...I gave her life! That's so...Big! I sound like an idiot, don't I?"

Shego chuckled softly. "No, you sound like a tired girl who needs sleep! Apparently I didn't energize you that much, earlier! Come on, get back in bed!" She helped Kim rise. "Want to get this on, properly?"

Kim looked down at the robe, then shook her head. "No, I'm good. I'll lay next to the wall, this time." Shego's cocked one eyebrow as Kim slid into the bed, and lay facing the wall. "Okay." She muttered, and lay down herself, pulling the covers over them both, laying down back to back with Kim, and reaching up to switch off the lights. "'Night again, Kimmie!" She barely heard Kim's muttered reply.

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Ron was still wide awake when there came a knock at the door, and it opened to reveal Charley. Immediately jumping to the conclusion she wished to discuss their shared vision, he started to stammer a greeting, when he noticed her dress. She was wearing her robe, but beneath it he saw her legs sheathed in black, and familiar footwear. Rufus also eyed the girl with interest.

"You guys having trouble sleeping?" She asked. "Because I know where we can get a little exercise to wear us all out!"

0000000000

Not more then ten minutes after lights out, Shego felt Kim squirming. "Okay Princess, what's the problem?" She received no reply. "Robe's too hot to wear under the covers, right? Come on, give it here." Kim froze, and Shego couldn't completely suppress a laugh. "Did I shock you, Kimmie?"

A long period of silence followed, and Shego was about to break it herself, when Kim spoke softly. "No, and I think that's the problem, it doesn't shock me, or really seem like bad idea, and it should!" But Shego felt her moving around, and the robe landed across her shoulder. She climbed out of the bed in the darkness, and hung the robe on the bathroom door.

She climbed back into bed carefully, trying to avoid contact, though for the life of her, she wasn't sure why. Before she was settled, however, she felt Kim rolling over to face her. "Shego, I know, intellectually, that somehow or other we communed in that tank, and somehow reached a decision about...this! But, I don't remember it happening, and it's kind of weirding me out!" the girl whispered fiercely.

"Me, too, believe it not! I don't like just doing things without thinking, and this feels just like that!" She paused to gather her thoughts before pressing on. "I mean, I have no problems sleeping in the same bed as you, and even the thought of..." she trailed off, but Kim knew what she meant.

"But do you actually feel like...doing it?"

Shego scowled in the darkness, then answered honestly, "Not so much, no."

"Same here, it's...weird! Maybe Mom was right when she said we were 'comfortable' like an old married couple?"

Shego started to shake with suppressed laughter. "What, all the passion is gone, we're just sharing a bed out of habit?" Kim began to giggle softly. "Roll out a pair of rockers, and plant our butts in them, eh, Kimmie?" In the dark, she pressed her forehead against Kim's, and they both lay there shaking until their mirth subsided.

"One question, Ana. Have you ever, with another woman?"

Silence followed for a moment. "Yeah, I've tried it both ways, Princess!"

Another silence. "And which do you prefer?"

Kim heard Shego snort. "I prefer someone who knows what they're doing!"

"Well, that certainly lets me out, doesn't it?"

Even in the dark, Shego could tell she was smiling. "Yeah, guess so, Princess! So, I'll have to settle for just having your young, nubile body naked next to mine!" Shego would have bet anything Kim was blushing head to toe. She smirked. "Got ya!"

"So not...Okay, maybe you did." Shego heard her yawn. "We have got to get some sleep tonight, or we'll be too tired to figure anything out tomorrow!"

Shego nodded, unseen or not. "You're right, Princess. So, for the third and hopefully last time, Goodnight!"

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The WWEE Unit leader looked around the small hollow he'd chosen as his forward staging area, roughly fifty yards inside the woods, east of the GJ Base. His night vision goggles showed nineteen more agents crouched around him, waiting for the start of their assault on the GJ Base. But first, he had to report to Gemini. Using any kind of transmitter this close to their enemy's base seemed to be a bad idea to him, but Gemini insisted, and was certain the new model transceiver could not be detected.

"Opportunity Knocks to Gemini, please respond, Opportunity Knocks to Gemini, please respond!" After a moment, he compulsively straightened his posture. "Yes Sir! We are in position, and all our information is correct! Main doors to the base are damaged, Defense systems out of action! In addition, I observed the enemy recovering some kind of vehicle which must have belonged to their attackers, I wondered if you are interested in our seizing it?" He listened briefly. "No Sir, I don't believe it's flyable. No, we don't happen to have a craft capable of carrying it. Yes Sir, that question was a complete waste of time, Sir!"

His fellow agents moved away from him, as if expecting the forest floor to open up and swallow him. "I have thirty-two men present, all that could be assembled on short notice due to the recent re-distribution of our agents...of course I'm not criticizing that decision, Sir! There was no way to anticipate this opportunity would arise!" The leader was sweating profusely, now. "I have twelve men divided into two-man sniper teams ready to pick off the outside patrols and maintenance people, and then I will personally lead the assault team! We will not let you down, Sir! Yes, Sir, of course we will see if Pepe's old bed is in the evidence locker, Sir! And the chew toy, absolutely! I will report as soon as we have successfully completed our attack! Goodnight, Sir!" He winced, "Oh, of course, I meant Good Afternoon, Sir! Forgot the time zone difference...Sir?" He grimaced, realizing Gemini had hung up on him.

Recovering his composure, he surveyed his command. "Well, men, Gemini is eagerly awaiting a report of our success! It's time to get this done!" He made the WWEE salute, and saw it returned by at least half the men. He then tapped his throat mike. "Operation Opportunity Knocks ready to begin! Sniper teams, sound off!" There was no reply. The other agents tensed up, and began to scan the trees surrounding and overhanging the hollow. "Sniper Teams, in order, report in!" His men began to look at each other, shrugging. "Did you guys forget which numbers you were, again?"

He began to get nervous, but tried hard to keep it out of his voice. "Any sniper team member, report!" To his embarrassment, his voice cracked. "Dammit! If you guys are screwing around..." The other agents were now scanning their surroundings with more intensity, thoroughly convinced that something had gone horribly wrong with the plan. One man was scanning using the infra-red scope on his assault rifle. As he was slowly sweeping the rim of the hollow, something suddenly obstructed the scope. Something that suddenly resolved into a small grinning skull, which cackled at him insanely. Startled by the sight, the agent tightened his grip on the weapon's trigger, and sent a short burst ripping off into the night, barely missing a fellow agent.

At least two more nervous agents also cut loose, though at least one had a target, a small pair of glowing eyes that suddenly appeared around a tree trunk. More weird giggling came from the surrounding woods, and more glowing eyes, and within a minute the sound of full-auto fire mixed with energy bolts echoed loudly through the woods.

"Cease Fire! Cease Fire, Damn YOU!" The leader screamed. The command was obeyed, though someone contrived to fire one last energy bolt straight up through the canopy of branches overhanging the hollow. The leader followed it's course with his eyes. "_As good as a flare, as if it mattered, I don't think anyone made all the Global Justice agents deaf!" _He saw his life flash before his eyes, his promising career, now in ruins. Without the element of surprise, and with nearly half his men suddenly unaccounted for, there was no way they'd succeed in an attack. The sound of alarms going off at the base now echoed through the woods, driving that point home. Well, he could at least try and execute the withdrawal properly. And find out which trigger-happy fool had ruined everything, so he'd go down the hole with him!

"All Right! Withdraw to the ships! Break up into teams, each follow a separate route! Move out!" As with many military organizations, 'teams' in this case were four men each. So the group dispersed quickly, heading both eastwards, and to the northeast, towards the two clearings they had managed to fit their transport into.

In the branches above them, a voice whispered, "You know, these guys obviously don't watch the right movies to learn how to survive in the woods at night, with someone stalking them!"

"Indeed."

To say combat training among WWEE agents was deficient would be an understatement. There was _no_ combat training for WWEE Agents, since most of the people who Gemini hired to perform the training somehow managed to get on his nerves quite quickly, leading to a quick, vertical, exit for said employees. So, his agents basically had whatever skills they arrived with, and rarely shared with each other. Which was one reason WWEE, with all the advantages of having no higher authority to answer to for their actions, had never managed to inflict a serious defeat on the better-trained Global Justice agents. There were rumors of a change in that situation, but none of the men sneaking through the forest that night were the beneficiaries of such a change.

So it was that the three teams that had to pick their own way through the woods, rather then backtracking their original routes, became lost almost immediately. One circled back and found the eastern trail, and began following it, making sure the unit leader didn't hear them following his team.

A second, despite their night-vision goggles, not to mention having compasses, turned completely around and headed west, only realizing they had really made a big mistake when they found one sniper team hanging upside down from a tree branch, in their underwear. Then a flash grenade blinded them, and voices from all around ordered them to surrender at once. Which they did.

The last lost team almost ran into a pair of mating skunks before their alert point man spotted them. While backing carefully away, the man next to last in line heard an odd noise behind him, and turned to see what had befallen the rear guard. And saw nothing. No guard, anything. However, having watched at least one of the right movies, he immediately looked up, and saw a dark struggling mass in the trees above him. "We're under attack!" He shouted, bringing his weapon up. He had one of the energy weapons, and he had enough presence of mind to switch it to 'stun' before blazing away.

Unfortunately, the next man, with an assault rifle, and not knowing who was above them, cut loose on full-auto. But, this agent had made a mistake, not setting his goggles to filter out the light generated by the energy bolts from the first shooter's weapon. He was therefore really shooting blind, dazzled by the light images in his eyes.

The first to fire ducked reflexively, before spinning to scream at the trigger-happy agent. "Stop! One of our guys is up there!" His eyes were almost blinded by the muzzle blast overwhelming the filters in his goggles, so he didn't see the small form dropping from the tree branches onto the shooter's shoulders. Or the blue light that flared along two sets of claws, that then plunged into the earpieces of the man's helmet, shorting out the built-in earphones.

But he most certainly heard the resulting shriek that tore out of the man's throat as he dropped his gun and clapped both hands to his helmet before collapsing to the forest floor, moaning piteously.

Badly unnerved, the still standing agent tried to clear his vision desperately, as he put his back against a tree trunk. He neither heard nor saw any sign of the point man, who in fact had simply bolted off into the woods when the shooting started behind him. He had no idea what was attacking them, but no bodies had fallen from above, so he assumed that both he and his colleague had missed, despite the volume of fire they'd put out.

The forest was still. Hot and still, with sweat beginning to elevate itself from nuisance to outright inconvenience. He tried to slow his breathing as much as possible. "_I feel like I'm in that movie, with that alien..." _Then he heard a noise, coming from the opposite side of the tree he leaned against. "_Of course! Now I have to decide which way...I'm right handed, and whoever this is saw that, so he'll figure I'll be slower to face an attack if he comes around on my right side...heh, or maybe..."_ He suddenly lunged forwards into a roll, coming upright and spinning to face the tree, weapon ready.

It only took him a moment to reconsider his move, and he threw himself into a sideways roll to his right, coming up again at the ready and making a 360-degree sweep of his surroundings, high and low. Again he saw nothing. He tried his best to suppress his frustration, the thing most likely to cause him to make a mistake. A sudden cry from some distance away caused him to spin in that direction. Then he heard a voice, seemingly right behind him.

"So far, I'd give him an eight out of ten." It was a male voice, and naturally he spun towards it, but saw nothing.

"Really?" Came a deeper voice from an entirely different direction. "I'd have thought he rated a nine, considering the disorienting circumstances." He turned to point his weapon approximately midway between the two sources, and backed up slowly away from them, scanning from side to side.

"Well, maybe I'll concede one point, buddy." This voice seemed to originate directly behind the man. But instead of spinning towards it, he held his position. "Yep, he earned a point there, gotta hand it to him!"

The WWEE agent suddenly straightened up. "Let me guess, you keep this up until one of the voices is really one of you, and you knock me out, right?" After a moment, two voices answered. "Well, yeah, that's about it!" The agent shook his head. "Hell with that!" He threw his weapon down, and put his hands behind his head.

"Ah, Man! Okay, guess it wasn't fun for you. Rufus, go see what happened to the guy who ran off, sounded like he took a fall!" Ron stepped out of the shadows directly in front of the agent, and brought his comm up to his mouth. "Four down, guys!" Then he looked upwards towards a dark shape swinging among the branches. "In a manner of speaking!"

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**Kim sat cross-legged on a couch, reading her math text. Davey Davison, whom she had babysat since he was three, nearly four years now, was watching TV, but not with his usual rapt attention. He kept glancing at Kim. **"_**He can see the scars on my arms, I knew I shouldn't have worn this top!" **_**Suddenly Davey got to his feet and came over, climbing up on the couch and kneeling, facing Kim.**

"**Kim?" She hesitated, and managed to smile before she looked up. "Yes?" He didn't smile back, but looked entirely serious. "I heard you got hurt real bad, is that true?" Her smile slipped slightly, but she nodded. And he threw himself into a hug that nearly toppled her. He held her for nearly a minute before letting go. "Did that make you feel better?" She sat blinking back tears for a moment, then smiled again, this time sincerely, and nodded. "Yes, Thank You, Davey."**

"**'kay." He climbed down from the couch and went back to his spot on the floor, but not without a glance back to see if she was still smiling. Then he returned his whole attention to the TV. **

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Kim opened her eyes, a tear leaking from one corner. She sighed softly. "_God, I needed that! I never thought I could feel that low, and never would have expected something that simple to raise me up again. If that was an alternate future, some things about it are worth remembering, both good and bad!"_ GJ Procedure had the general alarm turned off in the 'vistor's' section of the residential level, so she and Shego were blissfully unaware of the alarm going off.

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The WWEE team on the northeast trail had the disadvantage of having to climb a very steep slope on their way back to their aircraft. They didn't pay too much attention to keeping safe intervals as they did, setting up an obvious ambush tactic. As the point man reached the top, he almost inevitably looked back down to see how his comrades were doing. At which point Belle Reeder leaped from ambush and put a shoulder into his back, sending him tumbling back downhill. Only one of his teammates managed to avoid him completely, only to be hit by Belle, using her downhill momentum to knock him clear off his feet. She went down, as well, but her armor protected her in the resulting mad tumble downslope.

Beth popped out of the brush at the foot of the slope, and dealt appropriately with each WWEE agent as he reached the bottom, then barely managing to avoid being bowled over by her sister. Belle came to rest atop two of the WWEE men, vision spinning, but saw well enough to kick one in the head when he showed signs of trying to rise. "You okay, Belle?" Beth asked. "As soon as the world stops..." and she broke off as another vision hit.

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Betty Director lay on her side in bed, head propped up on one elbow, speaking into her cell. "All right, Agent Olson, let me get this straight! Charley Cob, her friends, Ron Stoppable, and Rufus walked out the doors, saying there were some WWEE agents in the woods, but not to worry, they'd take care of them?" As Olson answered affirmatively, Betty felt a hand on her bare ribs. She resisted the temptation to acknowledge it, and continued her conversation. "And then the outside patrols heard a loud outburst of firing in the woods, correct?" The hand slid down her side, coming to a stop on her hip. "And now, they've found a large number of WWEE agents incapacitated along the edge of the woods?" A finger tapped twice on her hipbone, then the hand slid back upwards to the curve of her waist. "Oh, and captured one four-man team as well?" The hand slid towards her navel.

"Well, it doesn't sound as if the situation is beyond your control..." Reaching her navel, the hand suddenly, slowly, began a more 'southerly' movement. "So, my advice is, wait until Charley, Ron, and the others are done, then collect whatever's left of the WWEE agents..." She flinched, "And put them in holding, but _separately _from the men we captured earlier..." Another hand forced itself under her waist and the arm following it reached up to encircle her. "And let the interrogators have a lot of coffee, because I want a report..." She barely suppressed a gasp, "...as soon as I get back tomorrow! Goodnight, Agent Olson!"

She hung up, then growled over her shoulder. "You know I'm not as...ahhhh! As young as I used to be, I do need some...ohhh! Sleep, or people are going to...Ah, hell, okay, but this time, we do it my way!"

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**The sounds of battle subsided behind her as Shego plunged through a set of curtains into an unlit hallway. "AMY!" She shouted, "Where the hell are you, you bitch!"**

"**There's no need to be rude, Shego! Follow this hall to the end, and turn left through the next curtain. Be careful, it's the laboratory, don't touch anything."**

**Shego frowned, there was something wrong with DNAmy's voice, beyond the fact she was appearing to help Shego find her. Nevertheless, Shego followed the instructions, though she took all precautions against ambush. Her left hand throbbed painfully, wrapped in a piece of cloth she'd found. She could clearly see the security cameras on the wall, and obviously, Amy could, too.**

"**I am terribly sorry about your hand, dear. It wasn't my idea to put the cortical bombs in those creatures! I never needed such precautions with my own creations, they never disobeyed me!" Shego grimaced at a fresh surge of pain. Charley had warned her in time, but she hadn't listened in her rage, and her plasma had detonated the bomb, costing her at least two fingers, maybe all four, before the doctors were through.**

**She dashed though the lab, tearing open another door, to see a room dominated by a curtain enclosed area. "Why did you make these things for that bastard!" She shouted, as she advanced, reaching for the curtains to sweep them aside.**

"**Oh, so he would put me out of my misery, dear!" Shego swept aside the curtains and froze in horror. "But he hasn't kept his word, so would you be a dear, and kill me, please!"**

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"Ack! That was some fight we were having!" JJ whispered. "Those creatures!" She leaned shakily against a tree, chest heaving.

"Never mind that!" Charley replied, "These visions are going to get us killed, if they keep happening like this!"

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Kim felt the bed rock as Shego tumbled out of it, then heard her scrambling towards the bathroom, apparently on hands and knees. The sounds of retching came to her as she sat up and turned the lights on. Getting out of bed, she checked to see if the babies had been disturbed, then went into the bathroom. Shego was on the floor, weakly trying to pull herself up on the toilet, obviously not done evacuating her stomach. Kim took hold of her and helped her, trying to ignore the mess on the floor that she was stepping in.

It took a while, but Shego was finally heaved out. Kim put the seat cover down, and helped the woman up to sit on it. Wetting a washcloth, she began to wipe Shego's forehead. The thief was pale, and her skin felt clammy. "You all right now?"

Chest heaving, Shego looked the girl in the eyes. "Heh, well, if you haven't seen me at my worst before, now you have!"

Kim surveyed the stained front of her nightshirt. "Let's get this off!" As soon as it was, Shego began to shiver, and hug herself. Kim quickly grabbed the robe off the door, and wrapped it around the woman. "Let me clean your legs off, then we'll get you back to bed. I'll clean this mess up." She now soaked a hand towel in warm water and began to wash off Shego's feet and legs.

Shego tried to shake her head. "No! It's my mess, I should clean it up, you're...well, okay, for the moment, your fitter then I am! But that still doesn't mean..."

"Shhhh! It's no big, Shego! Come on, back to bed!" Kim guided her to the door, but didn't follow, having her own feet to clean off. When she had cleaned up the mess, and put all the soiled material in a plastic trash bag, she emerged to find Shego laying on her back, robe and covers both on, but still shivering. Checking the babies once more, Kim saw them sleeping peacefully. "_Ah, I hope they're just as deep sleepers until they're teenagers, then I want them awake at the first bark of my voice!"_

Going to the bed, she looked down at Shego, who looked back with haunted eyes. Kim reached down, pulling back the covers, then opening the robe up. "What are you doing, that's no way to keep me warm!" Shego feebly protested.

"I'll keep you warm Ana!" Kim got into bed, lying partially across Shego, and pulled the covers over them both. It still took some time for the older woman's shivering to cease. "Am I too heavy?" Shego shook her head slightly. "No, Pumpkin, you're all right. Been a long time since something got me that badly." She took a deep breath, not the least hindered by Kim's weight, the girl rising and falling with her chest. "Last time, Milly held me. We were 12, only knew each other for two years, then!"

"What happened to cause it?" Kim shifted so she was half-covering Shego lengthwise, and laid her cheek on Shego's shoulder.

"Another orphan, a year older than us, accidentally overheard why one couple chose not to adopt her. So, she climbed up on the roof, and jumped off. She hit concrete, and I was standing right there...it was bad, Princess!" Shego grimaced at the memory, and was glad she'd emptied her stomach already.

"And this time?" Silence followed for a minute, before Shego responded. "You ever see _'Invaders from Mars', _Kimmie? What they did to...never mind, even that doesn't adequately describe it!" She put her arms around Kim, and held her tightly. "So, have I lost your respect entirely, yet?"

"Respect? Oh, that! Yeah, sure, sure!" The embrace tightened a bit too much. "Kidding, kidding! No, if you could endure me during my treatment, and in the Rani's lair..."

"But I didn't, did I? Left that to Eliana, as much as possible!"

"Hmm, No Big, Ana, you probably have a lousy bedside manner, anyway!" Kim joked lightly.

Shego twisted her head to look at the redhead, considering. "You know, there you might be right!" She looked at the ceiling a moment, then smirked. "Let's see, down to one garment between us, think I should hold out?" No answer came, and she twisted her head again, to see Kim looking at her oddly. "What's the matter?"

"I don't think we're alone, Ana!" She rolled over as much as possible without tumbling out of bed, looking back over her shoulder. "Oh!" Trying not to unbalance the girl, Shego raised herself up. Her eyes widened. "Oh, indeed!"

"Shego, I'm scared!" Cried a small voice.

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The WWEE unit leader breathed a sigh of relief when he emerged into the clearing where the large helicopter that had carried half his team sat. "_Going to be pretty empty going back!"_ the thought made him grimace, maybe going back wasn't such a good idea, Gemini wasn't going to forgive him for this fiasco. Then noises from inside the helicopter attracted his attention.

A popping noise, accompanied by a bright flash, came from the cockpit. He suddenly realized the aircraft's doors were open, and shouldn't be. Then he caught a whiff of something burning, and heard a strange giggling noise from within. He brought his energy rifle up and advanced, his team spreading out behind him. He was almost to the door when another 'pop' went off, again with flash accompaniment. Then a small metal skull shot out the door to stop an inch from his face, and blow a raspberry. He jumped back in alarm.

A noise behind him caused him to turn and fire his weapon at a figure on the edge of the woods, realizing too late it was one of his own men, from another team, with his three teammates behind him. The bolt struck him square in the chest, where fortunately a special mesh helped distribute the energy bolt. This had saved a few lives in training. But it didn't prevent the blast from knocking the WWEE agent flat, and he'd have burns from it later.

The leader's three teammates spun and brought their weapons to bear on the other team as well, backing up closer to the chopper as they did so. "Hold fire!" He managed to shout, before any bullets were loosed. Only to hear a thud from his immediate right. He turned to see one of his men pitching face-forward to the ground, while his attacker dropped and leg-swept another man off his feet, then punched him on the way down, hard. Sounds of fighting broke out in the woods, as well, as the leader tried to bring his weapon to bear on the nearer threat.

Charley Cob lunged upwards and into a back flip, landing a blow to the leader's weapon with one foot, and a fair hit to his chest with the other. Another energy bolt zipped off into the woods. The fourth man from the leader's team sidestepped to avoid his stumbling boss, as Charley came back to her feet, and snapped one fist out to knock the man's weapon aside as she stepped into him and delivered a palm strike to his solar plexus, armor and all. The effect was still impressive, as the man collapsed, wheezing, and Charley finished him with a punch to the head.

The leader regained his balance and aimed at Charley, but checked the woods quickly, and saw JJ Ko standing there, hands on hips, with four unconscious agents surrounding her. One of whom, of course, was his fault. "Who are you people!?" He shouted, switching his aim from one to the other.

"More important is who you are," Charley replied. "Namely, the man Gemini is going to blame all this on?" She spread her arms to encompass the whole area.

The man stared at her a moment. Then he sighed, "I suppose that..." indicating the chopper, "...is unflyable?" Charley nodded. He nodded back. "And the other ship?"

"Been there, done that, so to speak." Charley seemed almost apologetic.

The man nodded again. "Right!" He reversed his weapon, offering it to Charley. "Personally, you can shoot me, or take me in, right now I couldn't care which!" Charley took the weapon, then replied, "Well, I never believe in letting a man escape his responsibilities so, I'm afraid you're going in!"

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In the den of a house somewhere in Maryland, a man in the uniform of an Air Force Major General was speaking on the phone, voice showing considerable exasperation."Yes, Colonel, I understand he's making things more awkward then necessary. I regret involving him myself, but that's water under the bridge! Carry out your orders, and please do that errand for me. I know under the circumstances you're no longer obligated to do so, and I greatly appreciate it!" A pause followed. "Good Luck to you, too, Colonel! Hope to serve with you again!" The man at the desk hung up and settled back in his chair, staring out at the just lightening sky to the east. "Well, that's done, and hopefully this time it's all..." He convulsed suddenly. "Ah, No..."

Minutes later, an entirely different voice spoke. "Now, what was I doing? Ah, Yes! Some kind of attack on Global Justice, that's right! Let's see, should I just commit fully? I think I will, and I'll take a page from the Sontarans, but I'll do it my way!" A weird high-pitched laugh trailed out of the room, the door closing behind it's source as he departed.

* * *

Well, things got a little steamy, which I hope didn't offend anyone, but the night was a hot one, so what can one expect?

Please Read and Review


	25. Reveille, Revelations

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

Author's Note: If any of the names I give Alien races have already been used, duplication is entirely unintentional on my part.

* * *

Both Kim and Shego gazed in amazement at their visitor. Despite now looking around eight years old, both saw a resemblance to the 'teenager' they'd met in the 'gym', before going to SmartyWorld. She looked as scared as she had declared, wide-eyed, and fidgeting, dressed in a somber gray dress with a black collar.

"I know you might be mad at me, but I didn't know who else to talk to." She shifted her gaze back and forth between them. Kim had rolled all the way over, closest to the girl, and lay with the blanket pulled high, while Shego was propped up on one arm, looking over her bedmate.

Kim was first to respond. "Why should we be mad at you, sweetie?" She smiled reassuringly as she spoke, but the little girl looked away, then down at her toes.

"Because...because I broke the rules, and helped the bad man! But, I didn't know he was bad! My uncle said he was a good man, and I thought so too, at first. But when I got little, he looked...different."

Kim kept the smile, but also tried looking a little stern. "Why did you break the rules?"

The girl kept her eyes downcast as she replied. "I saw Shego die! And...and, I couldn't help her, because of the Stupid Rules!" Both young women's eyes widened. "But then, my uncle told me we could break the rules, for a really good person!" She looked up cautiously. "So, when the man changed things, I could help save you, Shego!"

"Because you thought I was a good person?" Shego was slightly confused, unless something changed her in that other future, too, but she didn't think so, the emotions she felt in the visions were definitely her 'old' self.

"You could have been! You never had a chance to be, with those things in your head! And I couldn't do anything about them, then! But once we changed things, Uncle told me I could help! And I did, didn't I?"

Shego absently nodded, so Kim supplied reassurance, "Yes you did, you helped her a lot! But, why are you still getting younger?"

"I was afraid to call an adult before, in case my father found out what I did. Now, I can only find my uncle, and I don't trust him! I'm too little to reach anyone, and I'm still getting smaller!"

Kim frowned, beginning to suspect she wouldn't like the next answer. "What happens if you don't find an adult?"

Shego's hand was on her ribs, and it tightened suddenly when the answer came. "I'm going to die."

The matter-of-fact way she said it was like a blow to Kim's heart. "_She's already resigned to it!"_ "What can we do, sweetie?"

The girl shook her head. "I don't know, I just didn't want to be alone, I'm scared!"

Shego began to climb over Kim, draping the robe over Kim's shoulders as she did. "I'm getting dressed, and find Charley! Only person who might know something we can do!" She grabbed her clothes from the wardrobe and ducked into the bathroom.

"Charley went outside, with the others." The girl stated. "There were some bad men going to attack, so they went out to stop them."

Shego stuck her head out of the bathroom. "And didn't invite me? Feh! Not sending her a Christmas present!"

Robed now, Kim stood up. "I'm going back to my room for my clothes, Ana! I'll be back to watch the babies in a few minutes!"

"Okay, but hurry, Princess!"

Kim left, leaving the girl fidgeting in the middle of the room. "Shego, I wasn't little when I decided to help you, I was nearly grown up, so I can't be forgiven by my elders." Shego emerged from the bathroom nearly dressed, buttoning her blouse. "Will they be very mad?"

The girl nodded, "Father will, he is supposed to punish our people when they're bad!"

Shego rolled her eyes. "So, I'll bet that's exactly why your uncle wanted you involved, hoping your father wouldn't punish him as severely!"

The girl thought for a moment, and nodded. "I didn't care, I just wanted to save you, I'd been watching you so long, and seeing you die was terrible!"

Shego knelt and took hold of her arms. "I understand, and I appreciate it so much!" She stated emphatically, smiling as she did.

The door opened to admit Kim, clothes bundled in her arms. She looked at the two curiously. "What did I miss?" Stepping around them she entered the bathroom herself and began dressing.

Shego opened her mouth to reply, then paused, and look at the girl. "Did you have anything to do with those pictures on the Internet of me and Kim?" The girl nodded. "You changed the words to what really happened, instead of the lies?" She nodded again. "Thank You!" The girl smiled slightly. "Can you tell us where to find the bad man?"

The smile vanished, and the girl shook her head. "I Lost him, I'm sorry!" She looked scared again.

"That's all right, he'll turn up again, I have no doubt!"

The girl nodded, "He's getting mad, and scared, too! He can't understand why his plans keep failing, since he thinks he knows what you'll do all the time, but then you don't do it!"

"That's us, all right!" Kim's voice came loudly from the bathroom. Then she ducked her head out to look at the crib. Shego went over as well, to see Milly's face screwed up in a frown, as if deciding whether to cry or not, though she still seemed to be half asleep. After a moment, her face relaxed, and she went back to sleep. Shego gave Kim a thumb's up, and received a mouthed 'sorry' in return. As Kim ducked back into the bathroom to finish dressing, a soft tapping came from the door.

Shego opened it to find Charley outside, again wearing her robe over her deactivated armor. "Roy wanted back in, if you don't...Oh!" Shego stepped back enough to allow Charley to see their visitor. She promptly entered, after a quick signal down the hallway. Charley knelt in front of their visitor, smiling as she did. "Hello, I've been worried about you, we need to get you together with your uncle!" As an angry look appeared on the girl's face, Charley tried to calm her, "I know, you can't trust him, can you? But, unless another adult is around, we need him to save your life, which is far more important, right?" She turned back towards the door. "JJ? See if our visitor is still in our room!"

"On it!" A stormy look crossed Shego's face, and she abruptly started after JJ. Kim grimaced, hoping the woman didn't get carried away. After all, these aliens were not people that would make good enemies. But she let that go, and turned to the visitor. "You need to think of yourself, sweetie, we don't want you to die! So, if your uncle is here, please do whatever you have to to live, okay?" The girl looked close to tears, but she nodded.

JJ reappeared a minute later. "Gone, Charley!" Kim got a glimpse of Ron peering into the room, but he pulled back out of sight when he saw her eyes on him.

Charley let out an exasperated sigh, then pulled her comm out. "T-Girl**,** do you have a self-initiated reboot command?"

"Um, yes, why do you ask?" came the suspicious reply.

Charley replied with another question."How long does it take to run?"

"About nine and a half minutes, and again, why?"

"Do you trust me? You won't understand until the program has run, and afterwards, you might be a bit mad, so I need you to control yourself!"

For a moment there was no reply, but at last the sentient ship spoke. "Until I find out what I have to be mad about, no promises, Boss! Initiating reboot, Now!"

Charley replaced her comm on her belt. She smiled at the girl, "We need to go down to the hangar, now. If there is anything I can do to save you, I promise you, I _will_ do it!" She held out her hand, but the girl instead went to Shego and took one of hers. But she gave Charley an apologetic look as she did. "I know you will, Charley."

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Betty Director opened her eye as she heard the door close downstairs. Raising herself enough to look around, she found herself in a rather indecorous sprawl on the bed, the covers in a tangle around her, with random parts of her anatomy exposed to the air-conditioned room. "_Could have at least thrown the comforter over me! After making me work up that much of a sweat, that would be the least he could do!" _She thought with a lopsided grin on her face. "_Have to be at the club by seven thirty, get some laps in before I meet Michael, as if I needed more exercise!" _The sound of her cell ringing ended her musings. "_Break over, back to work!"_

She climbed out of bed, shivering slightly, picked up her cell, and entered the master bathroom. Checking the number calling, she hit 'talk' and said, "Good Morning, Abby, and how was your trip, so far?"

"Well, I didn't get laid, boss!" Betty blushed, "_Damn GPS chip!" _Then she grinned, while turning the shower on. "Well, that's not my fault, is it, Miss Hogan?"

"Ahem, er, no, it isn't, except that the people I had to talk to were not suitable for a romp, if I ever even considered such a thing while laboring so hard for Truth, Justice..."

Betty cut her off. "Right! What did you find out, was Charley right?" Setting the waterproof cell in the soap dish with it's speaker function enabled, she stepped under the shower.

"Oh, yes! The reason we've had no requests for Drakken is because someone put out the word that they had a pressing need to interview him, that took precedence over any local agency's interest! And, to keep the Federal agencies at bay, they claimed it was a serious matter of, naturally, National Security!"

"And that someone is?" Betty tensed, suspecting she knew the answer. And she was right.

"The United States Air Force!"

00000000000

After managing to convince Agent Waller that Shego could be allowed off the floor with all of them for an escort, the group proceeded to the hangar, leaving Roy as baby watcher.

The hangar itself was vast, with separate bays for individual aircraft, divided by blast proof walls to protect against a chain reaction if one exploded. The aircraft elevator actually separated it from the main base, as it extended well to the west of the main facility. Inside it had a high enough ceiling to permit one of the aircraft to actually get airborne far enough to clear a second, provided it was capable of vertical flight and hovering.

As Kim and the others entered, they noticed a team of scientists and technicians led by Doctor Laird still working on the captured aircraft, though one or two seemed to be asleep on their feet, and one was was lying on an empty work table, definitely sound asleep. This despite a radio sitting not ten feet from him, broadcasting the latest news.

"_...in general, it's quite clear Kim Possible misrepresented matters, allowing the press to make several incorrect assumptions concerning her disappearance. However, her motive is also obvious, to protect a doctor who administered an illegal treatment to her, and whose name has been carefully edited out of all the recordings. The AMA and other interested parties are investigating whether or not that doctor was, in fact, Kim's own mother, though that seems unlikely, since the conversations recorded clearly indicate that this treatment occurred outside the country, and Doctor Anne Possible's whereabouts for the period involved can be accounted for."_

"_A photograph taken by a paparazzi showing the four young women believed to have joined Team Possible visiting the Possible house some days before rescuing their leader is being widely circulated, and is apparently making the photographer in question quite a lot of money. Images of them fighting the monsters created by the fugitive Elizabeth Reithan were one of the most popular downloads on the site which first featured the videos of Miss Possible's confinement."_

"_Sadly, the clips featuring her torture were also alarmingly popular, as were many featuring her and the villainess, or ex-villainess, Shego, either nude or nearly so."_

"_Among the more shocking revelations was the implication that the powers of Team Go, resident protectors of Go City, were provided for them by Extra-terrestrial beings. A year ago, such claims would have been dismissed out of hand, but since incidents in England, and other parts of the world, many governments are officially requesting that the United Nations officially acknowledge that Aliens are known to exist, and to reassure the people that some means are in place to protect the Earth's population from hostile lifeforms."_

"_Miss Possible, under torture, admitted to encountering such beings twice, though only three total creatures were involved in those incidents. Though some may say that a person under torture will say anything to stop it, the fact remains she provided details unasked for by her tormentor. Her admission that Team Go was aware of the origin of their powers is also enlightening."_

"_So far, there has been no official response from the embattled Mayor of Go City, Hubert Dew Lewis, who has always been a staunch supporter of the super team. Neither has there been a response from Team leader Hego."_

"_In a related matter, Doctor Emily Maisfield, who examined Kim Possible's daughter, announced that DNA tests have proven the parentage of the child without doubt, those parents being Kim Possible herself, and Shego. This comes after two attempts to abduct the baby yesterday, one by a man posing as a Child Services representative, and one by three men arrested late last night, who were identified by hospital security tapes. The three men formerly specialized in 'rescuing' young people from cults, and so far have not revealed why they may have wanted to kidnap either Kim, or her child."_

"_In another matter also related to Kim, the Reverend Milton Willward, briefly institutionalized after attacking Miss Possible in her hospital room in Go City, is now being sought by authorities due to the disappearance of large sums of money from various funds controlled by his religious and charitable foundations. An audit performed at the express wish of several members of the Willward family has shown a deficit of over seventy-three million dollars..."_

Shego frowned deeply as she contemplated what she'd heard. "_Kim told the Rani about those creatures Stoppable called Lorwardans, and that my brothers and I knew where we'd gotten our powers? Why didn't she tell me? What _else _didn't she tell me?" _Turning towards Kim, trying not to let her anger out, Shego stopped short at the sight of the girl. Kim was pale, eyes closed, with sweat beading on her forehead. Her lips were moving, and Shego was able to read them. "What else did I tell her, what else did I say, who else did I betray...what else did I tell her..." Shego's eyes widened in alarm. "_No!"_

She stepped forwards and grabbed Kim by the arms. "Kim! Kimmie, please stop, don't try and remember, not now! It doesn't matter, we can find out later!" The girl didn't respond, just kept whispering the same three things. Shego shook her, and green fire suddenly bloomed on her hands. "Princess! Please stop!" Ron, alarmed by the plasma, instinctively reached out and grabbed one of Shego's plasma-wrapped hands. He only had a moment to realize with surprise that he wasn't burning, when blue light flared around his own hand.

And suddenly, all three were flying apart violently. Shego hit a wall, hard, before Charley grabbed hold of her and steadied her. Ron hit Belle, and both went down in a heap, Beth preventing her sister's head hitting the concrete by grabbing hold of her ponytail and hanging on. Kim flew back into JJ, who somehow absorbed the impact and managed a controlled fall to a crouching position, ending up cradling Kim's head in her lap.

As three skulls zoomed in unbidden to scan the injured, Charley activated her bracer, even as she lowered a shaky Shego to a sitting position. The woman's sleeves, from both her blouse and the jacket over them, were gone from the elbow down. Ron had lost one sleeve almost to the shoulder, and Kim's were missing from elbow to shoulder. There was no charring at the ends, and the edges were as straight as if cut by sharp scissors.

"Belle, you okay?" Beth asked, kneeling besides her sister, who was half covered by Ron. Her twin looked at her fuzzily. "Why do I always get the rough guys?" Ron had both hands clamped to his head, because a cacophony of voices were roaring in his brain, a mixture of anger, curiosity, and a little fear. "_Think I just got the True Masters' attention!"_ As that thought ran through is brain, it was almost immediately answered by a voice inside his mind. "_Apologies, Stoppable-San, we didn't mean for you to hear our...debate. We will talk to you soon. In the meantime I advise not repeating that action." A_nd the voices ceased.

Certain Shego wasn't seriously hurt, Charley went to kneel by Kim, frowning at her readouts. "I have absolutely no idea what's happening inside her!" Then Kim opened her eyes, and both Charley and JJ started, and exchanged glances. Then they looked again. For just a minute, Kim's left eye was a far brighter green then normal, and her right eye had been a shade of blue just as bright, but as they watched, both resumed their normal color. JJ looked at Charley, who shrugged helplessly. "No idea, none at all!"

00000000000

Betty Director was on her fifth lap of the pool when she saw her party arrive. And of course, he entered at the opposite end from where she was. Maintaining her steady breaststroke, she took the opportunity to look around for anyone who might have become more alert upon his arrival. She definitely caught one woman sitting on the pool's edge pointing her out unobtrusively to the man, and she was suspicious of one other, also a woman, who had kept a covert eye on Betty since she had arrived, even in the locker room while she changed into her suit. "_Which was rather pointless, with technology nowadays, even a thong bikini can hide a microphone, even if most bad guys don't realize it, fortunately!"_

Reaching the end of the pool, Betty found the man holding a towel out to her as she climbed out. He eyed her figure appreciatively. "Conservative suit, Betty, you look like you'd still do a bikini justice!" He said, in a gravelly voice.

"I have it on good authority that I do, Michael." She removed her swim goggles, and then her bathing cap, before toweling off and wrapping the towel around herself. Her 'guest' was a chunky man in his mid fifties, with thinning dark hair and a thin-lipped face, wearing a conservative dark suit. "Can we get straight to business? Things are moving pretty fast around my office these days!"

Michael nodded. "So I hear! Especially yesterday, I'm reliably told!" He paused. "The information you requested has been collected, now we might have to haggle a bit."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, a certain idea was presented to me, and I promised to investigate the possibility of it's being implemented." Betty seemed disinclined to comment, so he continued, "I was wondering about those two little girls, especially Shego's daughter. I wonder, if perhaps a more in-depth physical examination should be performed, in light of recent revelations?"

Betty smirked. "That was brutally clumsy, Michael, which tells me you think trying to get a lever on Shego through her daughter is a bad idea, in the end! Besides, you'd also be dealing with a slightly peeved Kim Possible!"

Michael slowly shook his head. "If it came to that, with her recent behavior, Miss Possible might have to worry about being declared an unfit mother."

"Well, even if that didn't simply mean her parents would get custody, do you really think that girl would let that stop her from doing the right thing? And, would you really like her angry at you, with nothing to lose?"

Michael chuckled. "No, you're right! Besides, I think pissing off Shego is a real bad policy, under any circumstances! And I don't for a minute think we'd keep 'positive' control over her forever, even with the child! No, it was one of my numbskull staff who came up with that, and I'd like to honestly tell him I floated it by you. And you'd blown it out of the water!" He paused a moment, "However, there's still the question of whether or not to ask something in return!"

Betty nodded. "Michael, let's step over here, and let me tell you what's at stake, and then you decide whether to ask a price."

Thirty minutes later, Michael walked into his office at CIA Headquarters in Langley, to find the five members of his staff lined up waiting for him. Three were scapegoats-in-waiting, the other two valued staffers he was cultivating for bigger things. It was one of the scapegoats who spoke first, a too-cheery young man with family in Congress. "Well, Sir! May we begin implementation of Operation Green Shadow?"

Michael frowned at the man, upset at the distraction from his musings. "Operation What?"

The man's smile faltered. "Err, I went ahead and assigned a project name to..." Michael cut him off, turning to one of his favorites. "Madeleine, I want you to take the info Global Justice requested. Go down to Courier section, and find the best available agent. The best, understand? This isn't a brown job! Get him the best security escort available, and have him take the information directly to Betty Director, personally! She's currently at FBI headquarters."

As the woman nodded briskly, and began to leave, the scapegoat spoke again."Um, Sir? We're not getting Shego? What are we getting for this?"

Michael looked him straight in the eye. "Very likely, our survival!" And he turned and went into his inner office, mentally rearranging the order of sacrifice for his 'temporary' staffers.

00000000000

"What happened?" a slightly groggy Kim asked as she was helped to her feet, the now separated cuffs of her sleeves falling to the floor. Then she was brought to full wakefulness by very loud voice booming through the hangar. T-Girl's voice, going rapidly and thoroughly through the collective expletives of five different languages, only three of which were spoken on Earth in the twenty-first century. Several faces had gone bright red before she wound down, ending with a sharp, "HOW DARE THEY!" The scientists and technicians were all on their feet now and wide awake, one and all. Doctor Laird started over towards Thundagirl's bay, as Charley commented dryly, "Rebooted, are we?" She also started towards the angry ship, trailed by the others.

"Charley! How long have you known?" T-Girl asked, at a still uncomfortably high volume.

"Only since I was told that the 'boys' abilities had been changed, T-Girl! That's when I _knew_ someone had been playing with all our heads! You see, I once asked the Ar'Ithane in the future if I could upgrade them, and was told it was impossible to change them once they were initially completed. I think I mentioned that before, but I had the context wrong, as to where the conversation took place. But for now, we need to get something from our private storage, open it up, please."

"You got it, boss!"

JJ caught hold of Charley's arm and turned the girl to face her.. "You mentioned that when we were talking to the guy in our room, that they played with our heads?"

"Just suggestions, JJ, that's all. Suggestions we forget certain things, or ignore others. Even the boys' and T-Girl's minds were vulnerable to the Ar'Ithane. They in turn were conned, by our enemy, and now they may have paid a price for that!" Charley then turned and marched into Thundagirl, followed by the others. "Before you ask, Doctor Laird, we didn't keep these secret from you on purpose." Charley told him. "Our memory of these items was suppressed, though I'm a little confused about who was responsible, and why."

"Huh?" Shego found her voice. "Wasn't it these Ar-guys?"

Charley scowled. "Yes they did some of it...but I can't reconcile everything with their other actions. He claimed that our enemy asked them to try and keep us out of harm's way, for from 'accidently' ruining his own plans for dealing with the emergency. So, they tried to keep us focused on other things. For some reason they thought he was the Doctor, but keep that to yourselves, need to test someone's reaction to it." She was now facing a small square projection in the wall, only about four inches deep. There were five similar projections, the six arranged to two rows of three. "Stable, T-Girl?" Charley asked the ship.

"Stable, Charley!" The ship acknowledged. Charley nodded, then placed her palm on the surface of the projection. There was a click, and the front surface swung upwards on hinges as Charley took her hand away. Revealed was a small space that appeared as a gray void. Charley reached into the space, her arm disappearing up to the elbow as she did. She appeared to 'rummage' around, then frowned and withdrew her hand. She was holding a some kind of necklace, on which were strung four small square obects, a dull gray in color. She studied it briefly, lips pursed, then returned it to the 'void'.

Meanwhile, JJ was relating her and Charley's conversation with the interventionist to the Reeders, with Laird a very interested witness. At first, The Reeder sisters both nodded, but then Belle frowned. "Wait a minute, isn't the stuff we brought back from the future also of Ar'Ithane manufacture? Then how has it held together?"

JJ answered that question. "Obviously, it _isn't_ of Ar'Ithane manufacture, which means some of our memories of the future have been altered, as well."

Charley meanwhile had found what she was looking for, a small blue metal cube. She nodded in satisfaction. "Now, all we can hope is that the Ar'Ithane of this time can pick up the signal we send with this." She looked at the little girl and smiled reassuringly. "But I strongly suspect that they can!" She added confidently.

Kim, meanwhile, noticed that someone was missing...

00000000000

Shego's cell had begun to vibrate almost as soon as she entered Thundagirl**, **but she ignored it for several minutes. But when it persisted, she checked the caller ID, and groaned softly. Slipping away unnoticed, she left the ship, and moved to the back of the bay, shielded from sight by T-Girl, and opened her phone. "Yeah?"

"Hey Ana, it's me, Warren!"

"Well, Duh! Caller ID, remember?" Shego winced slightly, she really needed to save the sarcasm, especially talking to her brothers. "Sorry, Mego! What's up?"

"It's okay. What's up? Well, Hego's breakfast, and mine, for two things! I did something really dumb, and we're paying for it, but I thought you should know why we did it!"

Shego rolled her eyes. "What, you and the big lug eat too much ice cream last night, and now it's come back to haunt you?"

"I wish." Came the quiet reply, and Shego tensed. "Ana, Henry's secret identity has been blown. His real one, that is!" Naturally, Ron had not blown that secret in his Fanfiction, though he had unintentionally improved the social life of the real manager of the Bueno Nacho flagship restaurant in Go City.

Shego winced. "Ouch! How?" Then she guessed the answer, before Mego confirmed it. "Kim told that Reithan woman, and it was in one of the video clips!"

Shego began to massage the bridge of her nose, shaking her head slowly. "And Henry went ballistic?"

"At first he was outraged, yeah! Then I did the dumb thing I mentioned." He paused, as if deciding whether _this_ confession was going to be good for his soul, then finished in a rush, "I found a blurred out version of the clip on the web, and made him watch it!"

A dull throbbing began to build in Shego's head. "You two watched some of that crap?" She barely kept her voice down, but made no effort to keep her anger hidden.

"That's what made us sick, Ana! And now Henry's feeling guilty for blaming Kim in the first place!" He paused, then added quietly, "Ana, she refused to answer the question four times, she...Henry is feeling guilty that she was hurt that much to protect...well, you know the secret identity thing with him was just another part of his fantasy, and since Doctor Morrisey cured him, he's begun to see some of those things as childish, so this...he's really, really sick about it, and not just physically!"

Shego had a hard time responding, having only half-heard everything after 'four times'. "_That means she hurt you four times for refusing, doesn't it, Kimmie? God, why do you have to be so...you! That wasn't worth the pain, even if you only refused just to be stubborn, what did you have to prove, and to who?" _Pulling herself back to reality, she answered Mego as best she could, "Is there anything I can do, even come there and talk to the big lug?" The lengthy silence that followed had her imagining Mego laying on the floor, in a dead faint.

"Uh, No, Ana, I think I can manage that! I guess I just wanted you to know, we don't blame Kim for saying those things, we can't!"

"Yeah, that's good, Warren, and tell Henry...well, tell him to straighten up, and deal with it, or I'll come to Go City and straighten him up!" She heard an amused snort from the other end. "Anything else?"

"Hell, Yeah! When do we get to see our niece, or is it nieces?"

Shego stood there blinking a moment, and felt a tear well up in her eye as she looked at her phone in surprise. "That would be nieces, yes, as far as I'm concerned. And, as far as Kim is concerned, as well. At least for the moment, she might suddenly realize who she's getting in bed with..." Her cheeks flamed red, "Figuratively speaking, of course!" She couldn't keep a stammer from her voice, and knew Warren had picked up on it.

"Oh, sure, of course I _understand, _Ana!"

"_He's got that big grin of his plastered all over his face right now! Not giving him any more satisfaction, though!" _She kept her voice steady as she continued, "Well, Seeing Milly might be a problem, all things considered, but you can probably visit Amy in Middleton, once things settle down, and Kim gets to go home!" There was a long silence. "Warren?"

"Oh, Sorry! Just, hearing her name...nice choice for her, I'm sure her namesake would be pleased!"

Shego blushed again. "Oh...well, it was actually Kimmie's idea, but, um, Look, I'm sorry, but I have to go, I'll see you when I see you!"

"Ana, Wait! Listen, what kind of trouble are you in, now? Are you still with Kim, and can we help?"

"You think HooDoo will let you off the leash, and let you outside Go City?" Shego used the common nickname for Go City's incumbent Mayor, Hubert Dew Lewis. He, too, was nothing like his depiction in Ron's writings, primarily because he had been so patronizing towards the girl after she helped out Team Go both times, as to be insulting. So Ron portrayed him in a way guaranteed to give offense, if the Mayor was even aware of the stories. Shego had a sneaking suspicion he was.

"Like I care! Listen, since we've been cleaning up the city so well of late, he's been bending over backwards to keep us happy! Except, now he's not just indulging a bunch of teenage fantasies...Okay, the Wegos are having a little fun at his expense, but basically, we're asserting ourselves quite a bit more then we used to!"

"_Which means you're asserting yourselves, period! And it's about time!" _Shego mentally kicked herself. "_Listen to me! I could have stayed, I could have...water under the bridge, I'm not a Time Lord, I can't change the past!" _Aloud, she said, "Well, Thanks for the offer, I honestly would take you up on it if I could figure out how to use you, but right now, things are complicated enough, and maybe, just maybe, we'll finish all this up, soon!"

Mego sounded doubtful of her sincerity. "Well, Okay, but if something does happen that you need us, call! Okay?"

For a moment, Shego wanted to take him up on the offer, but the possibility of them getting hurt stopped her. "I will! Take care of the big guy, and yourself, 'kay? Bye for now."

00000000000

"Okay, That's done, signal sent!" Charley announced. No one had been able to tell exactly what she had done with the cube, she had not appeared to manipulate it at all physically. "Now, there's one more thing I can try." Charlie pulled her comm out, and brought up the phone menu. She called one number, and frowned at the response. "Out of Service? That doesn't sound good!" She tried another. This time she was rewarded by an image of Brigadier General Steadfast MacLaren. "Hello, Sir, I see you're up and alert! Glad I didn't wake you!"

"No, Miss Cob, I have been 'up and alert' for some time, we are having trouble with something in Cardiff, but I can't discuss that with you!" He paused, "Unless, by some chance, you might be free to assist...No, I'd never get you the required Clearance! So, what can I do for you, Miss Cob?"

"Is there any possibility that you can get a message to the Doctor?"

"Ah! Well, in fact, we do have someone who can do that, but she's unavailable at the moment, and we have no way of contacting her! Very sorry."

"I see. Tell me, is there any way I can be put in touch with the Rani? Oh, has she had problems lately, such as nightmares, or periods where she seems to 'zone out', if you understand my meaning?"

MacLaren frowned. "Actually, I have seen reports of some sharp mood swings on her part, one at least took place after a period of disorientation. Is there something going on here that would interest UNIT, Miss Cob?"

"Actually there is, now that I believe the Rani was not alone when she escaped Gallifrey!" Charley explained her theory about the TARDIS activation code. "I believe it's needed to travel in time only, since the Rani was able to hop around Earth at will!"

"I see! Well, that's an uncomfortable thought, another Time Lord!" Charley started to challenge that statement, but MacLaren kept on talking. "By the way, it seems the Rani has physically occupied the identity of Elizabeth Reithan for seven years, though she developed a well-documented history for that identity. Why do you suppose she waited so long to seize the Tempusite?"

"Seven years is nothing to a Time Lord! As to the Tempusite, it may have only been hidden here recently, you'd have to ask the Rani! Oh, have you verified that you have all that stuff?"

"Yes, all accounted for! Wish I could say the same for the TARDIS!" Seeing alarm on Charley's face, he smiled. "Not to worry, the Doctor collected it, seemed to think we might get up to mischief if we kept it! Personally, I agree, having a Time Machine that works is too damn tempting!"

"Very wise! Oh, I tried calling a mutual friend in Cardiff, and his phone is out of service, does that have anything to do with that 'problem' you mentioned?"

MacLaren's face clouded over. "Yes, and I'm afraid I can't discuss it, Miss Cob! Their usual problems there have increased many-fold recently, for no apparent reason."

"That actually may tie in with our problem! Listen, when Doctor Director returns from Washington, later today, we plan to hold a meeting and marshal all our knowledge of this situation. I wonder if somehow the Rani could participate, remotely, as well as yourself?"

The Brigadier mulled that over for nearly a minute. "Yes, I think I can arrange something, Miss Cob, especially if this threat you believe in is real! I will contact my superiors, and then Global Justice, and try and arrange things officially! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an urgent matter to attend to, here!" Charley didn't have time to reply before MacLaren disconnected. "Busy man." Charley commented. "Okay, that's done, I think we might think about breakfast, though first..."

And another vision hit.

00000000000

"**Don't give me that, Princess! I tried to tell you before we left, but you were all 'we're in this together, I'm going, etc, etc'! Well, now you can stay in the office area while Charley and I go to see Big Bare." Shego was driving, with Charley besides her, and Kim sulking in back. "Look, it's a 'clothing optional' resort, you can stay dressed as long as you don't ogle the nudies, got it**_**?" **_**They were driving on a gravel road, surrounded by tall trees, the air hot and still. It was a sharp contrast to the weather in Middleton at the moment, where four inches of snow was on the ground.**

"**I get it!" Kim replied hotly. "But tell me, if this guy is so paranoid about concealed weapons and microphones, why would he let you near him? You're always armed, and quick to use your plasma!"**

"**Well, he trusts me, and don't make any cracks! Besides, even I'd have to be desperate to risk making his security team angry, plasma or not. Especially the four-legged ones!" They pulled up to a long, low log building. A dozen or so cars were parked in front, but several parking spaces were available, and Shego found one in the shade. The three exited into the unseasonably muggy heat, and quickly went into the air-conditioned offices.**

**A woman in her mid-fifties, with graying hair, but a trim figure, was standing behind a reception desk. She was clothed, to Kim's relief. She appeared to recognize Shego. "Here to see Eugene?" she asked the pale thief. Shego pointed at Charley. "Me and her are, our friend will be waiting here." She turned to Kim. "Might be an hour or two, Princess, he may want a round of checkers. Come on, Charley!"**

**Kim watched the two vanish into the locker room. She scuffed her feet on the floor, and tried not to look petulant in front of the woman behind the desk. The woman studied her a moment, then smiled. "Too shy to go and see Eugene yourself?"**

**Kim was at a loss for words for a moment, then impulsively pulled her collar aside enough for the woman to see the scar under her collarbone. **_**Weird! I'm experiencing this vision differently! And why show the scar, instead of just admitting I don't want to get naked? **_**The woman nodded. "I see!" She then busied herself with some papers, while Kim wandered around the room. She came to a window looking out onto a swimming pool, just in time to see Shego and Charley vanishing into the woods beyond the pool. No members were in sight.**

**After watching her meanderings for a few minutes, the woman spoke up again. **"**If you'd like a soda, there's a machine just around that corner." Kim nodded politely in response, then decided she really was thirsty, and gave the woman a grateful smile. "Thank You, I will!"**

**Kim found the machine in a small lounge, with windows looking out the rear of the building. She spotted several people through them, and quickly looked away, but as she dug into her pocket for money, something she had noticed subconsciously made her look again. Then she began to slowly walk closer to the windows.**

**The woman's voice behind her made her jump. "The three adults were all in the military. One of the men was a member before he went overseas, and when he returned like that, he didn't think he'd be welcome here. But Eugene convinced him otherwise, and he eventually brought both of the others. The two teenagers are from families that have membership here. She was in an auto accident, his injuries were from a boating mishap. Again, Eugene told them they didn't need to be ashamed of their scars. After all, he has some himself! Now, they're something of a support group for each other."**

**Kim nodded her understanding, then started. "It's not polite to stare, not allowed, right? I'm sorry!"**

"**Don't worry, please! I know what you're thinking, or I can guess!" The woman looked at her speculatively. "Do you want to join them? You can remain clothed, if you wish."**

**Kim thought about it for a long moment. "That wouldn't be fair, would it?"**

**00000000000**

"They're back!" JJ muttered, seeing awareness return to Kim, Charley and Shego. Shego looked slightly flushed, Kim thoughtful, and Charley was frowning. She looked at both of the others, then walked over to Shego. "Have you noticed a theme in the most recent visions?" She asked the woman, quietly.

"Gratuitous Nudity?" Shego murmured. Charley smirked, then looked thoughtful. "Nudity symbolizes vulnerability? Is someone trying to tell us something? Or, are we behind the selection of 'moments' that we're seeing?"

"Hey, except for me, everyone involved is a teenager, maybe it's hormones?" Charley blinked, then blushed slightly. "Never thought of that, actually!" She shook her head. "Maybe I'm reading meaning into everything! On the other hand, I'm floundering in the dark more then I'm comfortable with! And, it appears Kim's gone into another one! Wonder what happened to her, while we were talking to Big Bare?"

"Stoppable must be in this one, too. Not much, I'd say, we hadn't gotten too far when that one ended!"

00000000000

"**You want me to WHAT!" Ron shouted, then clapped his hand over his mouth as Kim recoiled. They were standing in Kim's room, and Ron cast a frightened glance down the steps to the closed door at the bottom. "Sorry, KP!" He said softly.**

**Kim made a dismissive gesture. "No Big, Ron, Mom's the only one home, and she knows what I was going to ask." Kim was dressed in her robe at the moment. Ron knew for a fact it was just her size, but somehow right then it seemed two sizes too big.**

"**She...she knows?" Ron had a look of pure shock on his face. "And...and she's cool with it?" He asked, incredulously.'**

**Kim shrugged. "I wouldn't say _cool_ with it, but she understands my reasons, and she knows I wouldn't do this for some lame reason!"**

"**Um, well, can you explain your reasons to me? Maybe you should have done that first, sort of built up to that, um, request?"**

**Kim dropped her eyes and nodded. "You're right, you're right, I did sort of just blurt it out." She licked her lips nervously, then continued. "I know I have times when I'm selfish, and self-centered, Ron, but I may have set a personal record this time!" She clasped her hands together in front of her, and fidgeted. "I've made a couple trips to Florida you know, but I lied about the last one, I didn't go to see Nana!" Ron didn't react to this revelation, just waited patiently.**

"**I met some people who have helped me accept a few things, but they also got me thinking about you, and I can't believe I've been so selfish!" **

**Ron stepped forward and took her hands in his. She flinched, but didn't pull back. "Kim, stop looking at your toes, Please?" **

**Hesitating briefly, Kim looked up, but stepped back, breaking contact. **"**Ron, for the last nine months, I've been looking in the mirror, when I could stomach it, obsessing on my scars, and never once thinking how badly **_**you**_** were scarred! How much you had had to deal with, with no support from me! None, to repay you for all yours to me!" A tear started down Kim's cheek, and she wiped it away. "And, I started to imagine...I let my imagination run away with me, I'm afraid! But, now it's giving me nightmares, isn't that silly?" She dropped her gaze again, and shuffled her bare feet. "I need to see...I have to know the reality isn't as bad as some things I've imagined!"**

**Ron looked at her in silence for nearly a minute, then moved to the bed and sat on it, then began unlacing his shoes. "Got some appropriate music for this, KP?" Kim's responding smile was weak, and uncertain. "I mean, as far as lame excuses to get a guy's clothes off, this tops the list!" Kim's eyes widened, but so did her smile. "But, I'm easy!"**

"**And a Gentleman, according to Charley!"**

**Ron stopped cold, and gaped. "She told you?"**

**Kim smiled and shook her head. "That she slept with a gentleman, the same week you began stuttering again, but only around her? Hey, my 'leetle grey cells' still work pretty good, Potential Boy!"**

"**Oh, Heh!" Ron stood up and removed his sweater, then his T-Shirt. He heard Kim's sharp intake of breath. "Don't worry, KP, still have one good kidney!" He immediately realized those were the wrong words. "Sorry, I know this is serious, I know this may hurt you as much as it did me..." He looked to see her leaning against her dressing screen, as if for support, face pale. Before he could lose his nerve, he slid off his pants, and after a very brief pause, his boxers. He turned his back to her at first. "Let me know when you're ready for the other half, remembering that the last girl to see these scars tried to jump off a cliff two hours later!"**

"**Ron! Please, let's keep this serious, please!" After a few moments, "Your left leg, why don't I remember you ever limping?"**

"**I lost the limp before they even let you out of bed, KP! I healed half of my injuries before you could eat solid food! I may look bad, but you were hurt far worse then me!" He paused, until he heard her mutter under her breath, "Maybe I deserved it." He turned to face her, and stopped. Her robe lay on the floor. "Kim, you didn't have to..."**

"**Fair is fair, Ron! I wouldn't ask...I didn't see you at the lodge, when we were chained up, the concussion...I know you may have seen me, that's all right, but I wanted you to see me clearly, see the flaws I can't hide any more! I need you to know everything about me, before I ask you to follow me again!" She reached into her mouth, and removed her dental plate, leaving a gap where she'd lost three upper teeth. She set the plate on her bedside table, then held out one hand. Ron took it, and she led him over to her big mirror, which was covered with a blanket.**

**She pulled the blanket off, and stood side by side with Ron, looking at their reflections. "We did this two days after we saved Mister Paisley, remember? With our clothes on, of course!" She grinned briefly, then became solemn again. "We made a pledge, that whatever happened if I went out and helped people, we'd always do it together, and always have each other's backs. We were pretty naive, pretty..." She trailed off, as if she couldn't finish.**

"**Innocent." Ron whispered.**

**Kim nodded slowly, contemplating their images. Then she released his hand, and slowly turned away. "No innocence here."**

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Neither teen said a word, just walked to each other and embraced. "Whatever you need of me, KP, anytime, anyplace!" Ron murmured. Kim nodded, but couldn't speak. "That was the wrong thing to do, turning away! Never do that again, when you need me!"

"I wonder if I should feel jealous." Shego muttered.

Charley looked at her. "Do you?"

"If I did, would I be wondering?"

"Good Point!" Charley looked at the pair. "They come as a set, you know."

Shego nodded, "Yeah, guess I always knew that. Well, everyone brings some baggage to a relationship! At least this baggage can walk, and even feed itself!"

"I'm right here, you know!" Ron commented. Kim's shoulders were shaking, but she kept her face buried in Ron's shoulder.

"I take it that was a 'special' little vision you two shared?" Shego asked snidely.

"And was it a direct sequel to the nudist camp one?" Charley asked, innocently. A muffled 'eep!" came from Kim, and Ron pulled his head back to look down at her. Charley suddenly frowned, 'seeing' something the others couldn't. "Well, that can wait, let's go eat, while two of our party take a detour!" All eyes went to Charley, even Kim peeked at her over Ron's shoulder. Charley smiled apologetically. "Two somebodies need changing, and they're waking up! Ben, go outside with Kim and Shego, and 'port them to Roy, and the babies please!"

Kim grimaced, and looked up at Ron speculatively, then shook her head. "No, that would be abusing a trust! Come on, Ana, our parental duties call!" She took Shego by the arm, the woman resisting just a bit as a smiling Kim pulled her towards the door.

After they were gone, Charley turned to Ron. "Give me a hand, please?" She knelt by the little Ar'Ithane girl, who was sitting on the floor now, head sagging, eyes nearly shut. "Can't 'port her, I want to take her to my room for now." Ron nodded, and carefully scooped the girl up. "Let's go, everyone, closing up, for now!" Laird scowled, looking at all the things he hadn't examined. "Don't worry, Doctor, we'll be around for a while, I hope!" Charley assured him, with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

00000000000

Betty Director stood at the main gate of Andrews Air Force Base, talking to Abby on her cell, while waiting for a ride. Upon her arrival, she'd been requested to send her driver back to D.C., and wait for an alternate transport to where her flight awaited her. She acquiesced with some trepidation, now that she had a suspicion their enemy might have connections to the Air Force.

"So, what did Monty get from those two guys he terrorized?" She asked, while keeping an eye out for her new 'ride'.

"Not a whole lot, according to the 'uninfected' one. He had only a vague idea of the location of their base. He said it was kind of rustic, and he thought he could see a very large body of water from a hilltop near where he was quartered, while out on a run. With T-Girl's and Laird's final estimate of the range of their ships, I'd have to guess he was looking at one of the Great Lakes, since he said he couldn't even see the far shore. Anyway, he says the base was just barracks and training facilities, firing range, obstacle course, etcetera. The ships arrived less then two hours before they launched the attack, and they had only those two hours to learn how to operate with them."

"As to their backgrounds, all ex-servicemen, Canadian and American, none served in front line units, and not a bit of Special Forces training for any of them. The pilots haven't given us anything about the base where they trained, yet! Monty made a mistake, he 'infected' the pilot, and scared the other guy into talking! The pilot is still in shock, even though our doctors have told him the truth, that he was never sick. They think he might have a phobia about infectious diseases, with this prolonged a reaction. Oh, and every one of them are still insisting they're WWEE Agents, even though they've slipped up on dozens of details, just with what they've said!"

"They're being good soldiers. They must believe in what they're doing, which is probably ridding the world of evil. They're being used too, Ab!" Betty's gaze locked onto an approaching sedan, clearly marked as official, with just a driver visible inside. One of the guards stepped out of the security station and beckoned to her. "My ride's here, Abby, talk to you again later."

When the sedan stopped, the guard stepped forward and opened the front passenger-side door for her. The driver of the car was Betty's next big surprise. He was a short, rather stocky Asian, and a Brigadier General, to boot. A suspicious look crossed her features. Seeing it, he smiled disarmingly. "Genuine U.S., honest!" Betty nodded, and relaxed slightly.

Buckling her seatbelt as the General pulled away from the gate, Betty settled herself, then looked over at her driver. "You're Panda, aren't you?"

"Ouch!" He winced. "I so hoped I'd left that behind when I left Intelligence!" He gave her a grin. "Frank Pan, at your service!"

"Nicknamed by a senior Chinese intelligence officer, who had one arm maimed by a wild panda, while protecting an overly adventurous...nephew?"

Frank shook his head. "Grandson."

Betty's eye widened. "Twenty-three years ago? How old is that old...gentleman?"

Frank snorted. "Past eighty, and 'officially' retired, not that they'd let a mind like his go to waste. They didn't let that arm stop them from keeping him in harness, I think death or senility is the only thing that'll stop him!"

Betty nodded in understanding. "Anyway, he gave you the name for looking, what was it? 'Cute and harmless'? Until someone you didn't like got too close!"

"Well, I was sort of a roly-poly little body, to look at, back then. I don't think he used 'cute', though, honestly! Now, the ladies, on the other hand..." He smirked, then grew serious. "Better get to business, this base isn't _that_ big! I see you're flying Navy?"

"Nothing personally against the Air Force, just wanted to ride with an old acquaintance, may be his last chance to fly a Tomcat."

"Ah, Captain Rabb? Well, you might have to indulge him, a bit, then!"

"He can make the whole flight inverted, with the burners lit, as far as I'm concerned!" Betty frowned slightly. "But don't tell him that, might give him ideas!" Then she gave Pan a searching look. "As to business? How did I come onto your radar, may I ask?"

"A little inquiry your aide made, yesterday, regarding who it was that pretty much put a 'hold' on Doctor Drakken."

"Ah! But, we didn't get a name, just the fact that it was someone in the Air Force."

He nodded. "Right, because the person in question has been involved in so many classified projects. But, the inquiry ID'd him, just didn't pass the information to your people. However, it did notify me, since he's been a person of great interest to me, lately. His name, for the record, is Ed Dray, Major General, USAF."

"I see. Does he, or did he, have anything to do with a certain bomber?"

"Ah, making assumptions, are we? Well, in fact, yes, he supervised it's development, and was responsible for it when it went 'missing'. And, that's one of the matters pertaining to him that I'm investigating on behalf of the Chief of Staff. You see, he brought it in under budget, on time, and performing better then the required specifications."

Betty's eyebrows rose. "Wow! Have to rein him in, before he sets a bad precedent! But, seriously, something suspicious about how he did it?"

Pan nodded. "Yeah, if you take into account he paid 90 million dollars to two research facilities that don't really exist! Yet, they are accredited with supplying several revolutionary features in the bomber's design, which contributed significantly to it's exceptional performance! So, the question is, where did those innovations come from, and where did the money go?"

"What did the General himself say?"

"Ah, we didn't ask him yet! Some guy in Intelligence has a wild theory the tech came from China, so they could build the plane with our technology as well, then steal it! Anyway, they didn't want to arouse Dray's suspicions, so I couldn't ask him about that. In fact, until someone on my staff got a truly bright idea, I couldn't really interview him formally at all. But, now he's disappeared, so that came too late."

"How...wait, first tell me why you're coming clean on the bomber, suddenly?"

"Right now, a certain Major General, not Dray, obviously, is preparing himself to finally inform the Secretary of Defense of the whole truth about the bomber, or what we know to be true, anyway. And I don't envy him at all, he won't have any eyebrows left when he leaves that meeting!"

"Why didn't he go through the Secretary of the Air Force?"

"The Secretary is unavailable, last seen getting in a car driven by Art Mandley at Oh-dark-thirty this morning."

"Is Mandley connected to Dray?"

"Off and on, sort of a patron/protege relationship. Dray forced Mandley to learn better people skills, and trusted him with some key assignments, and he did good on all of them. So, he's devoted to Dray, to a point." Frank was having trouble driving and trying to gage Betty's reactions at the same time.

"And now Dray's AWOL?"

"As of two hours ago, he's officially AWOL, yes. He'd been relieved of all duties pending a physical, due to some odd behavior of late. Blackouts, particularly. So, I checked up on his medical history, and, to keep things simple, he seems to have managed to arrange all his mandatory physicals for his own convenience, even when he was fresh out of the Academy. A surprisingly small number of doctors have seen him in the last twenty-five years. He didn't report for an examination yesterday, despite being ordered to. Kind of hard to believe he's masked some sort of condition for this long, but the way things seem, he might have managed it!"

Betty was silent for a minute, marshaling her thoughts. "What other matters were you investigating, regarding him? Or, can you tell me?"

Pan nodded. "Two involve deaths. First, he's had four accidental deaths involving members of his personal staff during his career, the first seventeen years ago. I mean, no suspicious circumstances, but that's a lot of bad luck for one officer's staff! Second, much more ominous, is what my staffer connected him to last night." He paused to maneuver around a truck whose driver was arguing with one of the Base Police. "We've had three murders on Air Force bases in the last two and a half years, with the same MO, the latest three months ago." He looked straight at Betty for a moment, expression grim. "Very nasty murders!"

"Who were the victims, and how was Dray involved, that it took so long for the connection to be made?"

"Two women, one man. One of the women was a civilian employee. Three different Bases, Germany, Alaska, Louisiana. Whoever did it took his time, maybe all night, real sadistic bastard! Which, by the way, doesn't fit Dray's psychological profile at all. Conflicting forensic evidence, as well, what there was of it! Anyway, when the first two were connected, the standard checks were made, comparing base personnel, civilian staff, pilots and other transitory personnel, but no matches! After the third, same thing! Then one of my staff, as I said, got an idea."

"Checking for personnel who weren't 'officially' on the bases at the time?"

Frank actually pouted. "Aw, spoiled my surprise! Yep, Dray was traveling under heavy security at the time, and the only way to get him to show up in the search was for it to be run under a higher security clearance. Which I happen to have. He was at all three bases on the nights of the murders, but only officially present at one. Alas, this came too late, connecting him to three murders, even circumstantially, gave me license to pull him in officially, but he was gone when my people got to his home. Having it searched now."

Reaching their destination, Pan pulled the car to a halt, then turned towards Betty. "It seems to be a case of a split personality, but there's no indication of it at all in his records, and he didn't suffer any notable traumas that we know of that could have caused a mental aberration."

Betty nodded slowly. "Three things. Was he an ambitious officer, and if so, any actions inconsistent with being one? And, did he show any great scientific aptitude, himself?"

Pan regarded her curiously for a moment. "Well, to the last, no, never seemed to take much interest in scientific explanations, though he seemed remarkable tolerant of hold-ups in some projects, as if he did understand why they occurred. As to ambition? Well, he turned down staff jobs at the Pentagon regularly, wanted to stay active, he said. That's not unusual. Oh! He did turn down the job as head of UNIT-North America, said he didn't want to waste time checking out crop circles, etc, while waiting for the rare real threat to come!"

Betty smiled grimly. "General, would you be available for a video conference, later today? On the most secure equipment you can manage?"

"If it gets me the answers I need, certainly!"

"Well, I'll have someone contact you, if you'll give me..." Pan handed her a printed card bearing a magnetic strip. "Ah! That'll do! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to squeeze myself into a flight suit! Talk to you, barring more attacks on my people, in a few hours."

00000000000

In Middleton, two of the Possibles' neighbors were engaged in speculation regarding the presence of two strange vehicles parked in front of the Possible garage. One was obviously official, with a man wearing Air Force blues standing beside it. The other was vaguely familiar to one of the gossiping women, but she wasn't quite sure. She thought maybe she'd seen Kimberley driving it once.

Meanwhile, in the backyard of the woman's house, her cat, a gray and white tom, was fascinated by something that it couldn't quite see, just a slight distortion of light, moving just above the hedge separating the woman's home from the Possible home. The cat was sure _something_ was there, it just couldn't decide what to do about it. Eventually, it decided that a quick wash and nap were a better use of it's valuable time.

The hovering object, the skull known as George, drifted slowly along the top of the hedge, eyes locked on the Possible house.

00000000000

On the detention level of the Global Justice Base, Bradley Bars was on his second cup of morning coffee. He had no intention of taking time off to sleep now, after last night's excitement. Plus the fact the holding cells were full to bursting! Well, that was slightly exaggerated, once the interrogations were over, they'd no longer have to keep so many prisoners separated from each other.

As he studied the bank of monitors in front of him, the cloaked skull known as Walt hovered near the ceiling behind him, waiting.

00000000000

In the hangar, Doctor Laird had finally relented and let everyone of his staff take a two-hour break. He himself kept looking at Thundagirl, a vexed look on his face. Over his head, a GJ Agent looked out the windows of the hangar control room, from which new arrivals were scanned, and all activity within the hangar monitored.

Neither man had a chance to see Goldie slip into the hangar, and take up a spot behind one parked tilt-engine aircraft.

00000000000

A man who Kim, Shego, or Charley would have recognized paced back and forth in a brightly lit laboratory. Several large vats of chemical bubbled on one side of the room, and three upright objects resembling steel cabinets were lined up on the other side. The man kept checking readouts on a computer console every time he reached one end of his route.

"They're gathering against me, I can feel it! Have to keep them off-balance, until I can come up with something permanent! Damn them! No tempusite, no anti-matter, nothing! All this time wasted, and they've blocked that plan again! And damn that fool, taking away my best weapons, at a time like this! Well, his agenda and mine were never the same! I'll finish what I set out to do, one way or the other!"

A soft chime came from the computer. "Well! Ready for molding, then we'll wreak some havoc! I'm going to hurt that girl this time, in a way she'll never recover from! No powers or not, Kim Possible has become my greatest vexation!" He paused, and lowered the volume of his rant considerably. "Unless _he_ comes!" He shook himself. "No matter! I'll break that little hero first, even if I have to let that red-striped bastard loose on her!"

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As always, Please Read and Review!


	26. Another future revealed

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, or any of the other characters from that series, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

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Kim slowly, carefully raised her head, gradually raising her eyes above the bunched-up blankets along the edge of the bed, until her green eyes met four little blue ones watching raptly through the slats of the crib. She waggled her eyebrows, or tried to, the left one didn't waggle quite as much as the right one. Nevertheless, her performance was rewarded with two smiles. But then, those four eyes suddenly began tracking higher, and some foot-kicking commenced, as well. The girl rolled her eyes. "Roy, are you stealing my smiles?" A contrite beep sounded above her head.

"Say something to me, Princess?" Came Shego's voice from the bathroom, where she was showering.

Kim shook her head, rolled upright and to her feet, then walked into the bathroom. "No, just talking to a little red smile stealer, that's all!" She leaned against the sink. Kim had already showered and dried her hair, and now was wrapped up in a clean robe, slippers on her feet. Some fresh clothes had been obtained for both her and Shego, not that the latter was looking forward to wearing them. Plain blue slacks and a white polo shirt just weren't her style. "_We''ll look like members of a bowling team, Princess!" She'd complained._

A thought struck Kim."Ana, you flew in on your own plane, why aren't you carrying more clothes with you? Didn't you remember to pack?"

"Of course I remembered to pack!" Shego snapped, "But on the way up, I stopped over at Isle Drakkon, and mentioned I intended to return to spend the night! So, while I was managing some stuff on my computer there, some thoughtful people off-loaded my luggage, even unpacked most of it before I knew it! Anyway, I was in a rush, so I just grabbed Milly's diaper bag and took off again."

"They meant well, Ana." Mention of Isle Drakkon caused mixed feelings for Kim, neither of her visits to Drakken's 'safe' island had ended well for her.

"I know, I know! Not mad at them, you brought it up, remember?"

Kim was thoughtful for a moment. "Is there really a guy named 'Big Bare'?"

"Well, he spelled it b,e,a,r, when he started in the business. Information broker, and a good one. But after a couple of bad experiences, he and the wife took over that resort. You want to meet with him now, it doesn't matter who you are, you do it by his rules. Getting sent to see him is sometimes used as a practical joke by some agencies, or even punishment! Why, you planning to go down there and hang out, Kimmie?"

Kim snorted, "So Not! But, you...well, obviously, you've been to see him, in this world, uh, right?"

"Yes, Curious Kim, twice! Never mind why, won't tell you, it's in the past. Change of subject, unless you want to discuss your closet exhibitionist tendencies!"

Kim glowered at Shego's distorted image through the shower door. "The house in the Yucatan, did you really build that just for Eliana? Did you already have that lovely place on Isle Drakkon, or were you actually planning to live at the Yucatan house at first?"

There was silence for a moment. "I built it solely for her, Princess, you should have seen what she lived in before! Mind you, it sat there empty for nearly two years except for infrequent visits by me, until a hurricane leveled her old place. Then I insisted, and the other people down there backed me up! As to my other home, thanks for the compliment, considering you only saw the outside, during that little 'raid' of yours."

Kim rolled her eyes. "Ever going to let me forget that? Going to keep rubbing that little mistake in my face forever?" She asked, an unintentional edge to her voice.

Another pause, before a reply. "If it bothers you that much, then no, I won't bring it up again."

Kim winced. "No, I'm sorry, that was an overreaction, not enough sleep! Need coffeeeeee!"

The shower shut off. "Sounds good to me!" Shego slid the door open and snatched her towel off the rack, then began drying herself. Kim watched her idly for a moment, before realizing again she wasn't acting 'normally'. "_But I don't feel awkward, seeing her naked! But a month ago, I'd be red as a beet right now! This is really the drama! I feel like we've had a long relationship...well, far longer than it's actually been, with Shego!" _She looked away, casually, and saw Roy bobbing about the crib, with various happy noises emanating from him. She suddenly smirked. "Wonder if Roy can 'port dirty diapers...nah!"

"Now, now, Possible!" Kim looked back at Shego, but already knew from the heat radiating off her that she'd exited the shower, and was standing almost uncomfortably close to Kim as she vigorously toweled her hair. Said actions had an interesting effect on her breasts, and Kim caught herself swallowing nervously. "_Okay, that definitely caused one of 'those' reactions!" _She took a deep breath, too late realizing Shego had stopped toweling, and was watching her. Under the thief's curious stare, Kim turned red and shuffled a little sideways, away from Shego.

Torn between teasing and reassurance, Shego was merciful. "Sorry, Princess, that was a bit too provocative, wasn't thinking!" Kim's expression became sheepish. "No big! It was just...unexpected? Should it have been?"

Shego shrugged. "Not sure, Kimmie! Wish we had time to figure this out, here and now," Kim looked a little apprehensive, "But we need to get some breakfast, and that aforementioned coffee, inside us! Again, this relationship may have nowhere to go, with food taking priority over...intimacy?"

Kim blinked, and swallowed nervously. "That seems a safe enough word. I'll get dressed, you finish up!" Kim stepped out of the bathroom, and stopped when her eyes fell on her clothes, folded neatly in a pile on the bed. "_It'd be silly to take them back to my room and dress, wouldn't it? But, if I dress here, am I sending any signals? Heh, if I go back to my room, am I sending any? This is So the Drama!" S_haking her head, she went to her pile. She picked up her 'boy shorts' style briefs, then dropped them and pulled off her robe, and, not looking once towards the bathroom, got dressed. But, she knew Shego had at least looked, but hadn't watched her. How she knew, she wasn't sure, but she knew.

Once dressed, she turned her attention once again to her daughters. She was in the middle of rearranging Amy's clothing when a very brief vision hit. Only seconds in length, it showed her back at the Nudist Colony, talking to the others near the pool, then looking up to see Shego and Charley had returned. Charley seemed to be merely curious about the gathering, but the look on Shego's face...

Something clattered in the bathroom, sounding as if it bounced off the sink, then hit the floor. Kim didn't look up, just grimaced slightly. "Wasn't pretty, was I?"

"I...I've seen worse, Princess!" Was Shego's hasty reply.

"But the others weren't me." Kim said quietly. Shego heard, nonetheless.

"No, they weren't." She replied quietly. There was silence for a moment, then she spoke again. "Heh! You wouldn't believe the thought that just went through my head!" Kim looked at her questioningly. "Doy! Shouldn't have said...Just, I actually thought of taking you and the girls somewhere, and locking you up, keeping you safe, just...like you'd let that happen!"

Kim smiled, but then the devil slipped into her. "Sure you weren't just revealing some 'slave girl' fantasy of yours, there?" She asked, impishly.

"What! Oh, I...you..." before she clamped her mouth shut and blushed, "You just wait, Possible! Oh, no more show-and-tell!" She closed the bathroom door, resisting slamming it due to the babies. Kim folded her arms and waited.

Three minutes later: "Um, Kimmie, could you pass me my clothes, please?"

000000000000

Ron sat on the floor of Charley and JJ's room, watching the sleeping little girl he'd carried there, now lying in Charley's bed. Charley was showering at the moment. JJ sat on her own bed, likewise watching, with Rufus perched beside her. Ben hovered over the girl. "I hope someone can help her!" Ron said softly.

JJ shook her head sadly. "Nothing more we can do for her, unless her 'uncle' reappears! But, he seems to be hiding from our big bad guy. Can't blame him, if...she's awake!"

The little girl's eyes opened, and locked onto Ben, watching him curiously. "Why did Charley make them look like that? Mine was a crystal sphere, all bright inside!"

Ron smiled at the girl, but couldn't hide his puzzlement. "Your what?"

"My childhood friend, I think you would say." JJ leaned forwards and spoke softly. "Every Ar'Ithane child has one, usually the parents choose it's design, and it's abilities."

"Oh!" Ron leaned closer to the girl. "What happened to yours?"

"He's gone, now. I had to say goodbye to him to try and become an adult." She replied quietly, eyes brightening with moisture. Ron turned to JJ. The girl hesitated, then explained. "They're meant as children's companions, when the children try to become adults, the companions self-terminate. I don't know why they don't pass them to other children, they just don't!"

Ron began to look worried. But Rufus asked the question in both their minds first. "What about Charley's boys?"

JJ shrugged. "I don't know, and she avoids the subject! When she becomes an adult, by the laws of this land, we'll find out!"

Ron looked at Ben, who made a 'shrug' motion. "That's..that's...not fair! These little guys are as good as alive! They can't just let them die!" The sound of the shower ceased, and JJ glanced at the bathroom door before saying quickly. "These little guys would also be effectively immortal, Ron! I guess they have to have some kind of termination date, but I disagree with the Ar'Ithane's timing, too!"

Before Ron could reply, the bathroom door opened, and Charley emerged, wrapped in one towel while vigorously rubbing her hair with another. "Shower's free, JJ!" She looked at the little girl, who was apparently asleep again, and sighed. "Why can't there be more I can do for her!" Then she and Ron suddenly zoned out.

"Oooo, vision time!" JJ commented. Then they were back, and both began to turn a deep shade of red. Charley looked at Ron, incredulously, "How did we _do_ that!"

"Well, I am the Monkey Mas..."And Ron suddenly clapped both hands over his mouth, reddening even further.

JJ and Rufus exchanged looks. "Must have been a _good_ one!"

"Indeed!"

Charley suddenly shook her head violently, and shot to her feet. "I need to talk to Kim!" Then she looked at the sleeping girl. "Ron, please stay with her until I get back, I don't want her left alone, please?" JJ frowned at Charley as the girl went to the chest of drawers they shared, and began pulling out clothes. JJ opened her mouth to speak, then stopped, shaking her head. Instead, she got up and began picking out her own clothes. "I'm going with you, bound to be more interesting, and I'm tired of not knowing what's going on!"

Ron and Rufus then viewed an excellent demonstration of Synchronized Dressing, with both girls making it to fully dressed almost before Ron could process it, by helping each other with bra-fastening, and bracing each other while one donned socks and shoes while standing up, then the other. Then they were out the door and gone.

Ron stared at the door for a moment, then looked at the girl. Reaching out, he touched her hand, and was alarmed at how cold it was. "Rufus! I don't think she's going to last much longer, I wish I knew how to tell!"

"She won't." The two jumped at the unexpected statement, and both gawked when they saw the source. An androgynous, humanoid, silver-gray figure. "But I'll save her." Ron jumped to his feet as the figure stepped towards the bed on which the little girl rested, only to suddenly notice that she had changed, now resembling a smaller version of the new arrival. He stood there blinking as the visitor pulled back the covers, and picked her smaller counterpart up in her arms. The smaller figure began to turn translucent, while the larger began to develop an interesting 'bulge'.

"She'll be okay?" Ron asked, indicating the girl. The image nodded solemnly, "I must return to our homeworld with her, but others will come to investigate the disappearance of the Observation Team. I was only close enough to respond this quickly because I had just arrived to join them, but found their abode abandoned. But I have no more time to talk, I must leave now." And with that she faded from sight. Ron and Rufus stood staring at each where she had vanished for a moment, then turned to each other. But as Ron opened his mouth to comment, a familiar voice spoke.

"I suppose you think I'm a coward for not doing that myself..." The familiar visage of Mister Barkin, haggard and worn, gazed from an otherwise featureless body. "But as she said, the young one needs to be returned to our homeworld, something I have no time for. I intend to free my captured comrades, by whatever means necessary." Then he, too, faded from sight.

"I'm not sure I like the way he said that!" Ron declared. Rufus nodded agreement. Ron then shrugged. "But, now there's no reason to stay here, is there?"

000000000000

"Daniel, listen to me! We already know that I didn't administer any illegal drugs to my daughter, agreed? Fine! So, why are you bothering me at home? If you had to go through the motions, you could have called me at the hospital, I _do_ have an office there! Okay, granted I don't spend much time in it, but..." Exasperation clear on her face, Anne Possible paused to give her caller a chance to talk briefly, rolling her eyes and glancing towards the stairs, wondering what was going on upstairs. "Okay, off the record? The treatment was administered outside the United States, by a licensed physician, just not one licensed in the United States! And no, I had no prior knowledge that the treatment would be administered, nor did I receive any word of Kim's condition until her condition was fully cured." "_At least, the __first_ _condition she was treated for!"_

Exasperation turned to relief. "Thank You, Daniel! No, it's really not a matter for your office at all, but I understand if you have to continue to investigate! And I don't mind being interviewed by one of your people, at the _hospital_, all right? Oh, and please don't send someone who loves mysteries, and think they're supposed to uncover some kind of conspiracy, please? And you know who I'm talking about! Thank You, Daniel, love to your wife, Good-Bye!" Anne let out a long sigh of relief as she hung up. She immediately started for the stairs, but halted as she heard voices from above, growing louder.

"I agree, Doctor Possible, that the trace does indeed lead back to the personal computer of an Air Force officer, and we will continue to investigate, but I hardly think a two-star General is going to be pulling such a petty, malicious trick as this on you." The speaker was a Major Wallace, who had arrived at the Possible home nearly two hours ago, accompanied by a female Airman whose specialty was computers, to investigate a complaint James Possible had filed personally through some official contacts he knew. The prompt response said a few things about how important the research at the Middleton Space Center was to the Government.

Anne did wonder privately, however, if the Major was chosen more for his persona rather then his investigative skills. He sounded like he would have a future in Public Relations, and had no lack of charm. The Airman was a stocky blond who looked like she might still be short of twenty. There was a driver, as well, but he had not entered the house, remaining with their car.

"So, you believe someone else had access to this General Dray's computer?" James asked the Major. "Had to be..." Major Wallace replied, before being interrupted by his own phone going off. "Excuse me a moment, Doctor Possible...Wallace. Who? Yes Sir! Could you hold a moment, General, I need more privacy." Wallace looked at Anne. "May I step into your kitchen, Doctor?" receiving a nod, he left the room.

Anne looked at her watch. "Jim, I'm going to have to go to the hospital in another twenty minutes, You'll have to ask SADI to move, I'll be upstairs getting ready! Oh, how long did the garage say they'd be keeping your car?"

Jim was looking towards the kitchen door, and took a moment to respond, "Two days! I really have to remember not to park it outside the robotics lab, until they replace the safety glass with something more like..."

"Solid steel plate?" Anne asked archly.

Jim's lips quirked. "That might work! I wonder if that's General Dray on the phone, complaining about us!" At which point Wallace reemerged from the kitchen. "Doctor Possible, I wonder if we can examine your computer further? To see whether General Dray, or rather his computer, accessed yours on any previous occasions?" He paused, "And, it may be smart to check your daughter's, as well."

Jim scowled suspiciously, but reluctantly nodded, and gestured for the Major, and his assistant, to precede him.

Anne huffed in annoyance. Then her cell phone rang. Actually letting out a small growl, she answered it. "Yes?"

"Doc, it's Maisie." The voice of her chief nurse rumbled in her ear. "Wanted to let you know Mister Raines canceled his appointment, and Doctor Trueman postponed the staff meeting until tomorrow. So, you've just had two hours freed up!"

"Well, finally! Something going right this morning! Thanks, Maisie! Hmm, but maybe I should come in and look at those evaluations...we'll see! Thanks again, I'll see you later!" But almost immediately, her phone rang again. "Yes?"

"Doctor Possible, it's Charley."

"Oh! It's good to hear your voice, how are you feeling? I heard you were badly injured saving Kim, and I want to thank you for keeping your promise!" She looked towards the stairs. "I know Jim would love to thank you personally, but he's tied up, right now, someone hacked into our home computer, and the Air Force is investigating!" Silence followed. "Charley?"

"What? Oh! I'm sorry, Doctor Possible, that's interesting, but I needed to tell you something about Kim..."

000000000000

Colonel Arthur Mandley was a truly unhappy man. He was sitting in a small cabin aboard an Air Force transport, sharing that space with the Secretary of the Air Force, who had just learned of a very good reason to be displeased with Colonel Mandley.

"I know the regulations, and the specific wording of your orders on this project, Colonel! However, the theft of the project constitutes a serious threat to National Security, which in my opinion overrides those orders! Or did you not know that I had not been informed?"

"Sir, I had objections to the wording of those orders, but your predecessor approved them, and personally told me to stick to them to the letter, under all circumstances!" Mandley kept his voice as level and firm as he could, but it didn't matter much to the Secretary.

"That's because my predecessor trusted Ed Dray implicitly. But I _do not_! Especially after his recent behavior! I know you owe him a lot, Colonel, but you had better understand that I believe his career is in jeopardy, so you might want to distance yourself from him, career wise, if not personally!"

Mandley willfully suppressed a desire to snap at the Secretary. "Sir, it's possible the stress of handling so many Top Secret projects may have finally caught up to the General, but I'm not willing to write him off, or retire him! I'll admit I myself have been worried about some things he's done recently, but they could all be symptoms of stress, not a permanent problem! He'll get back to his old self, I'm certain of it!"

The Secretary shook his head. "I can see we're at an impasse here, so let's change the subject!" He seemed to consider his next words carefully. "What do you think of our current plan, and be frank, Colonel!"

Mandley grimaced. "I think it's a bad idea, for the record! I mean, I agree leaving that ship in private hands, or even in the hands of Global Justice, is a bad idea as well. But we're dealing with a sentient and free-willed entity, here! She can jump straight to China, or anywhere else she chooses, and we can't stop her!"

The Secretary nodded. "Well, we'll have to use tact, at least until we find a way to control her...it! What about recruiting Team Possible for missions?" The Secretary knew full well the answer to that, and they both knew it, but Mandley humored him.

"A very bad idea, Sir! There's a good reason that GSG9, the SAS, Delta Force, in fact all counter-terrorist agencies, keep the identities of their operators secret. Because the terrorists would strike at them, and their families, if their identities became known. If Kim Possible participated in a single CT mission, we'd have to put her family in protective custody. Maybe even change their identities, the works! We'd be wrong to ask her to risk her family's life, mostly because she won't. The same with Stoppable. The new girls, though...well, they did good in Thailand, but I've heard their leader had more than physical problems afterwards."

"Well, there was never any question of leaving any of those girls in charge, if they worked for us! Sure, use them for PR, but not for real leadership!" The Secretary replied. He frowned, "But you're right! In fact, according to the NSA, Kim's family nearly ended up on a death list, because of what happened at SmartyWorld, and that was a third-rate terrorist on that occasion! No, they're unsuited for that kind of job. Still, I want that ship out of their hands, at the very least! Just imagine what we could use it for!"

Mandley threw caution to the wind, and rained on the Secretary's parade a little. "And, what are the other armed services going to say about this? Not to mention the CIA, and the other agencies? Some of them won't be pleased, and can get damn uncooperative when they aren't pleased. Besides, the whole world saw Thundagirl at SmartyWorld, and some foreign agencies have been making inquiries, overtly and otherwise, regarding her capabilities, and whether she's one of a kind or not!"

The Secretary wasn't the type to shoot the messenger. But the sour look on his face clearly demonstrated his reaction to the news. A bit of his displeasure was directed at himself, for not knowing these facts in advance. He liked to appear well-prepared at all times, though this particular trip had been spur-of-the-moment, a belated response to a recommendation that had, ironically, been made by General Dray himself, only four days after Thundagirl's existence had first become known to the Air Force. And the Secretary suspected that Mandley didn't know that fact.

"We'll deal with the other services when the time comes!" Suddenly desiring a change of subject, the Secretary decided to satisfy his own curiosity about something. "That case you're carrying, does it have anything to do with what we're discussing?" The case referred to was the size of an small suitcase, and made of stainless steel, if the Secretary was any judge.

"No Sir, these are the shut-down codes for another project I have to go terminate as soon as we're finished at Global Justice. Not sure if you've been briefed on this one yet, we were developing something along with the Navy, but they've pulled out, and we don't have the budget to continue it ourselves."

"I see. Is this another of Ed Dray's projects?"

"He and Admiral Torrey came up with it, yes. Everything seemed promising, but final development would probably exceed the project's timetable by years, and we don't want another Osprey fiasco!"

"Torrey? The Navy's Number One loose cannon? Great! I wouldn't expect those two to hit it off, Dray's never shown any maverick tendencies at all. Wait, if this is Dray's project, did he give you the terminate command?"

Mandley shifted uncomfortably. "Actually, the command came down from above several days ago, but apparently the Admiral asked General Dray to stall, while he tried to change the Navy's mind. General Dray called me last night and told me about the problem, asked me to carry out the order before his successor caught flak for it not being done." Before the Secretary could respond to this revelation, an Airman entered from the cockpit.

"Excuse me, Mister Secretary, you have a secure call from the Chief of Staff."

"I'll go back and check on the men, Sir, while you answer that." Mandley hurriedly offered, glad of an excuse to get away from the Secretary. At the Secretary's nod, he rose and exited the cabin. Entering the aircraft's main cabin, he looked at the twenty Air Force Security Police seated there, and slowly shook his head. "_I don't think this is going to go over very well with Doctor Director, if she makes it back to her headquarters before we've finished our business!" _One factor in the decision to hastily initiate this mission was the fact that Betty Director was in Washington at the moment. Mandley didn't approve of the show of force, even if it was ostensibly for security purposes, since the Secretary also wanted to bring a few people back with them.

But all in all, Mandley suspected there were going to be some fireworks disrupting any chance of a smooth execution of their mission.

000000000000

"I know who you are, of course! After all, I am one of those responsible for your existence in the first place!" The man speaking was a compact, swarthy individual, with a neat beard showing just a touch of gray, and a piercing gaze. He addressed a tall, fairly handsome man with crew cut, graying blond hair, a military bearing, and a calculating gleam in his blue eyes.

"And I, in turn, am responsible for _your_ existence, my dear Master, at least in this particular form!" General Edward Dray replied.

The two stood in the laboratory between the now inactive vats and the three upright 'cabinets', which now looked like tall black obelisks.

"Yes, I understand that very well!" The 'Master' replied. He studied his hands, turning them over and back, then patted his chest. "Feels perfectly normal, but I can tell I'm merely a copy, one bound to serve you it seems! Lifespan?"

"A matter of days, best I could do, I'm afraid!" Dray shrugged, "Sorry I couldn't give you all your scientific knowledge..."

"Don't patronize me! You could have done just that, but you didn't!" The Master gave Dray a knowing smile. "You know full well I'd devote part of my time to finding a way to extend my lifespan, and to breaking free of your control if I had all my scientific knowledge!"

Dray was angered by the interruption, but it passed quickly, and he nodded thoughtfully. "And somehow, I suspect you'd probably do just that!"

The Master gave him a querulous look. "Probably?" He chuckled softly. "Well, let's see what you've got here, shall we?" He studied the three 'Obelisks'. "Made from local materials? Can't say I'm keen to risk my short existence in one of these, untested!"

"I had no intention of _you're_ doing so! I intend to have a little trial run, sending just one on a little side mission, which should cause my nemesis quite a bit of pain and suffering!"

The Master looked at him curiously. "You're not referring to the Doctor, are you?" Dray suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Tell me, who exactly is this great Nemesis you speak of?" The Master asked, relishing the look of acute embarrassment forming on Dray's face.

"Well, you see...this might be hard to understand, without actually...her name is...well, there's more than one person, you see! But, this one has thwarted me, by deliberate interference or otherwise, three times!"

The Master knew a stall when he saw it, and with barely hidden malice pressed the issue. "But, just who is this virtuous heroine, who has defeated you, so many times?"

Dray grimaced. "Well, you see, it's like this..."

Moments later, the sound of the Master's laugh echoed through the laboratory...

000000000000

Belle and Beth Reeder were having their breakfast. Reaching the facility's cafeteria, they had been directed to a smaller dining area. Shortly thereafter, Doctor Laird had come in, nursing a large coffee, and sat down with them.

After taking a moment to sample his beverage, he addressed them "I wanted to talk to you about those 'private' hiding places of yours."

They both nodded in unison. "Figured you would, sooner or later." Beth replied. "They're only accessible to us, even when they're open, only the owner can reach inside." She then frowned. "I wonder why someone would want us to forget them? Nothing much of use to us to this point hidden in there."

Laird brightened. "But, there _are_ things inside, that you didn't previously tell us about?"

Belle replied this time, not least because her sister had a mouthful of food now. "Well, obviously, since we didn't remember them before!"

Laird waited expectantly for a moment for further elaboration, then rolled his eyes and asked, "What kind of things?" He blinked and rubbed at his eyes. "What about that signal device that Charley used..."

"One use only." Beth spoke up, as it was Belle's turn to have her mouth stuffed. "You can probably have the casing, but what was inside actually traveled to the Ar'Ithane home world with the message." She paused, "Are you all right, Doctor Laird? You seem to be tearing up?"

"Um, yes, something seems to be bothering my eyes, and my sinuses, not sure what!" he admitted.

Both girls frowned, then Belle's eyes widened. "Oh! Maybe it's our breakfast!"

Laird looked at their plates. "Scrambled eggs and ketchup mixed? I don't think so, girls."

"Oh, it's not ketchup! It's Diablo Sauce. Extra Hot!" Beth informed him.

Laird's eyes widened, then blinked as tears formed. "I see. Well, I think I'll let you get back to eating, and talk to you both later! Excuse me." He rose and rather hurriedly left the room.

The twins looked at each other and shrugged, then finished their plates. They had barely returned from putting them on the dirty dish rack, and picking up a doughnut each, when Kim and Shego entered, carrying Amy and Milly. And greetings had barely been exchanged, when Charley and JJ arrived, followed quickly by Ron and Rufus.

"Kim..." Charley began, before spotting Ron and Rufus. "What are you doing here? I asked you not to...oh, someone came for her?" Both nodded.

"One of her people, a new arrival, she said!" Ron informed her. "And then that 'uncle'. He said he was going to free his friends, no matter what it took! Not too happy about how he said it, either!"

Charley scowled, but nodded. "He might be trouble, but at least the little one is safe now!" She turned back to Kim, then shook her head. "Let's everyone get some food, and we can start swapping stories. I really need to hear Kim and Shego's account of what happened to them, I think I made a mistake early in this mess, in addition to trusting the Ar'Ithane blindly!"

Everyone went through the food line, while the Reeder sisters held the babies. When they were all back in the semi-private room, Charley looked at Kim again. "I hate to remind you of something bad, but what did that Reverend Willward guy say to you, when he accosted you in your hospital room?"

Kim was surprised at the question, and shifted uncomfortably. "I...he was just kind of nuts. No, totally nuts! He accused me of trying to...replace...It was all stupid! He was just crazy, mad because I was called a savior on TV, that Macheles called me one, after he..." She jammed her knuckles in her mouth.

"It's all right, Kim, I get the idea." Charley said. "I'm just suspicious about anything involving an attack on you recently. But for now, let's hear about you two and the Rani."

00000000000

Anne Possible looked up from her seat on the couch, where she had been thinking about Charley's phone call, when she heard their visitors descending the stairs. James accompanied them, and the twins trailed behind, arguing. "Wade must really have been having an off day, not to find that tap on Kim's computer!" Jim exclaimed.

"Yeah, but did you see how _good_ it was? We would have had a hard time spotting it, if we weren't looking hard!" Tim replied.

"_You _would have had a hard time, my security program would have found it on a routine sweep!" Jim shot back, smugly.

Tim replied with a wicked grin, "Oh, yeah? Then how come it didn't pick up Donna Lomax's hack job on your blog?"

"What! That's diff...none of your business!" Jim sputtered.

"Who's Donna Lomax?" Anne asked, a curious smile on her face.

Both boys' eyes widened, and they exchanged panicked looks. "Uh, um..."

"Is that Doctor Lomax's daughter? I hear she's a very bright young woman...who happens to be two years older then you two are." James Possible ended his comment with a somewhat sterner look on his face then his wife now displayed. As the twins' brains raced, trying to formulate a reply, Major Wallace cleared his throat.

"Doctors Possible, I really can't explain why General Dray was running this surveillance on yours and your daughter's personal computers. It was certainly not an authorized action, it...what's that noise?" A very odd noise could be faintly heard, coming from outside. All present found themselves headed towards the front door. Wallace reached it first, opening it and leading the way out. Anne stopped in the doorway, more to obstruct Jim and Tim from following then any other reason. She had the proverbial 'bad feeling about this'.

"Is this a joke?" Wallace asked, to no one in particular. Sitting in the middle of the street in front of the Possible residence was a smooth black obelisk, identical in appearance to those featured in a very well-known movie. Several of the Possibles' neighbors were coming out of their houses to look, as well. Few, however, ventured far from the assumed safety of their own front doors, those few not having lived in the neighborhood for long enough to be wary of any unusual occurrences popping up near the Possible residence.

On the same hill where he had once managed to photograph Charley and friends visiting the Possible home, the same paparazzi focused his camera on the object. He wasn't alone, though, as a young woman, who had figured out the location of his vantage point from his photos, brought a video camera to bear.

Despite his comment, Wallace didn't think this was any kind of joke, not after his talk with General Pan. Neither he nor Airman Gates were armed, but there was a 9mm pistol in the car. He was about to go collect it when the obelisk began to open. What came out of it made his jaw drop.

"Whoa!" Tim exclaimed, looking past his mother, "They look like something from _Super Demon Invasion III_!"

"Yeah!" Jim responded, "The third level boss's minions, remember! Except these are real, and they don't look friendly!"

"Boys! Back in the house!" James snapped. He backed up himself. The four creatures who had emerged from the object did indeed look like something from a video game, all shiny and black, with unrealistic bodily proportions, upper bodies far too large for their narrow abdomens, and large heads on ridiculously thin necks. Covered with shiny plates and sharp spines, they each possessed a large blade-like ridge on both forearms, and three-clawed hands. They stood about eight feet tall, or would if they stood upright, but they were crouched, hissing at each other, and the people staring in shock at them.

As several front doors slammed all along the street, Wallace turned to shout at his driver to get the gun, though the creatures didn't look likely to be vulnerable to such a puny weapon. But his view of the Air Force vehicle was abruptly blocked, as a section of the roof on the other car in the Possibles' driveway suddenly began to raise up, and swivel towards the obelisk. Wallace blinked, as a spurt of flame shot out the rear of the raised section, and a small missile came shooting out the front, heading straight for the Obelisk and it's passengers.

The creatures had fast reflexes. Even with the short distance between the car and the obelisk, they still dodged the streaking missile, which went right between them and into the open door. After a moment, there was a muffled detonation. All four monsters roared, brandishing their bladed forearms, and two started towards the Possibles. Then, things got warped.

Literally. The air around the obelisk suddenly began to distort, becoming a vortex-like shimmer. And then, with a very loud shriek, the obelisk, the monsters, and a hemispherical chunk of the street about twenty feet in diameter vanished.

As water began to gush from a pipeline suddenly missing several feet of it's length, a stunned Wallace heard a voice coming from the car that had launched the missile. "Oops! Sorry, Doctor Possible!"

James regarded the perfectly formed hemispherical crater in front of his house. "Oh, that's all right SADI! Better that then the alternative, right?" "_And there's no way I can talk Anne into making the call to the insurance people for this one!"_

The sound of running feet caused Anne to turn and look back into the house, as the twins came dashing down the stairs, arm laden with...She stopped them with a gesture, and a sharp shake of her head. As they peered around her to see what had happened, She indicated Major Wallace with a one hand, and made a 'shooing' gesture with the other. Shoulders lumping in disappointment, they turned and dejectedly walked back up the stairs. Anne closed the door behind them, though it was highly unlikely any of their visitors were going to see anything, their attention being solely focused on the crater and SADI.

"Doctor Possible," Wallace began shakily, but his voice firmed up as he continued, "Do you have permission to own a car with a missile launcher?"

"Oh, no, she's Doctor Freeman's creation, and she's used sometimes for some special, uh, transportation duties, where she might encounter hostile people who a missile launcher might be required to stop! So, _she_ is licensed, but I can't tell you by which Agency without their permission!"

Wallace looked at him speculatively for a moment. Then, deciding he wasn't the person to pursue this matter, he nodded. "I see, Doctor. Well, I suppose we're done here, except for giving a statement to the local police. As I said, we will try and determine what General Dray's interest in you and your family is and get back to you!"

James nodded, then stepped back next to Anne, and whispered to her. "Better call Kim, or Charley, or whoever you can think of, and tell them about this!"

On the nearby hilltop, the paparazzi and the woman with the video camera looked at each other, then exchanged a high five. "We're RICH!"

00000000000

Dray looked at the readouts on one of his computers, as the imitation Master looked on. "Some kind of explosion, but not a malfunction! It caused an implosion, I believe, though I can't tell if any of my beasts survived it!" He looked up speculatively at the Master. "Well, they weren't the best of my creations, we'll just hope for better results with the others. And I'm hoping for great results from you, my dear Master!" He walked away, exiting the room.

The Master looked at the closed door for a moment. "Oh, you certainly can expect _great_ results from me, my 'friend'!" He said, quietly. He then began to study the equipment around him.

00000000000

In the Hangar Security Booth at Global Justice Headquarters, Agent Maxwell was trying not to let the boredom get to him. He wished he'd had the duty shift the day before, when things had been quite exciting, or the previous night, when he was told something had happened regarding that weird ship. Now, though, he was looking at the usual routine, with only two scheduled inbound flights today, and one had already arrived bringing Abby Hogan back from her mission. Only Doctor Director's flight from the nearby airbase was still scheduled to arrive.

The door to the booth opened, and Agent Will 'please don't mistake me for Du' Douglas walked in. "Hey Max! We have a special request from the Air Force. There's a flight arriving in a few minutes, with the Secretary of the Air Force aboard!" Douglas paused, "They're flying in their new transport, with some gadgets aboard they don't want us civilians to know about, so they've asked us not to scan the plane when it arrives, and we've decided to honor that request!"

"Really? That's quite a breech of protocol, who authorized it?"

"You know only one person can authorize it, Max! I mean, really!" Douglas looked astonished, as if at Maxwell's 'denseness'.

"Well, Yeah, I know! But...Okay, I get you, Air Force keeping it's secrets, don't pry, got it!" Maxwell was obviously convinced.

Douglas nodded. "Right! Hey, you off shift in time to catch the afternoon game, Reds and Braves?"

"Oh, hell, yeah! Meet you in the fourth level lounge, right?"

"I'll bring the...well, the authorized beverages, you bring some chips!" Douglas gave a cheery wave, and stepped out of the room. He breathed a sigh of relief. "_That part went like a charm! Not sure how this plan is supposed to work, getting instructions in two parts is unusual, now let's see if I can get part two accomplished!"_

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My description of SADI's armament not as it was in the series, but then again, little here is.

Please, Read and Review.


	27. Sorting out the facts

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, any other the other characters from that series, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

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"Has anyone actually considered the possibility that we've been playing out of our league?" Shego asked the room in general. All stories had been told, all facts exchanged, and all coffee cups refilled. Both babies had been entertained until they dropped off to sleep again, and all present had visited the restrooms at least once.

Kim snorted. "Leagues! Most of this has been about leagues, for me!" Everyone's attention turned to her, and she blushed slightly. "Okay, that was a bit too melodramatic. It's just...I've been getting so many examples, the past year, of things I've taken for granted. Like, how come I only went against the villains I did, the ones who were in my 'league'? Why didn't I ever get requests to fight greater evil? Was I protected from them? Did Wade filter those out, or send them to say...Global Justice? Or, did GJ tap his system, and filter them out themselves? Why, until recently, have I gotten away with making mistakes, without suffering any serious consequences? Shego reminded me of one this morning, and I nearly bit her head off! So, I've started to wonder if my problems recently have been delayed karma, my getting hit with all this, to make up for all my narrow escapes! And guess what, I'm thinking selfishly again!"

She turned to Ron. "I'm going to apologize again, for not letting you into my confidence at the beginning of all this! Yes, I was trying to protect you, but only because I didn't trust you to sit in Middleton while I was being treated, and because I was too proud to let you see me as an invalid! And now I see the way you dealt with me in that other time line, and I'm ashamed of my pride! But, if I'd let you be there just so I'd have you with me, that might have been selfish, because you'd have been suffering too having to watch me go through that! So like I told Eliana once, there was no choice I could have made that didn't hurt _someone_! But the choice I did make hurt all the people I love in one way or another!"

She shook her head sadly. "But, to let you, my parents, and Wade think I didn't trust you all, after the way you've looked after me all these years, had to hurt you inside, even if you understood the reason I did it. Understanding may lessen the hurt, but it doesn't erase it! So, Ron, I want you to take what you're about to receive without argument, or protest, just acceptance, Okay?" Ron nodded, a touch warily. Kim suddenly enfolded him in a hug, and squeezed him hard. "I'm Sorry, Ron Stoppable, for ever doubting the things in you that I treasured the most, even while taking them for granted. And Thank You for being what I needed most, all these years, an understanding friend!" She released Ron and sat back, her eyes searching his face for his response. She did wonder whether the redness in his face was embarrassment or a result of oxygen deprivation.

Ron blinked back a tear, cleared his throat, and asked, "No arguments, no protest allowed?" Kim shook her head, tears of her own in her eyes. "Okay, then I accept, but may I ask a question?" Kim nodded, "What did Shego kid you about, that set you off?" Kim blinked in surprise, her jaw dropping, then abruptly burst out laughing. Ron gave her a half-smile, as if he expected such a reaction. Everyone else in the room, save Rufus, just looked on with confused looks on their faces.

Kim finally got herself under control. Wiping her eyes free of tears, she took Ron's hand and squeezed it. "To think, once upon a time, I'd have thought you ignored everything I said because you fixated on the one thing. I know better now! We'd better talk about that later, heart to heart, Potential Boy! Now, do you really need to hear that story? No, wait! You deserve to, it's another case of pride pushing aside trust, another little secret I kept from you and a lie you were told, but not by me, by Mom, so I wouldn't have to!"

She looked around the table. "First off, I need to tell everyone who doesn't already know, about Isle Drakkon*. It's a fairly small island in the Caribbean, a sovereign nation in it's own right. It used to be run by a minor dictator, until he was thrown out by Doctor Drakken and Shego. See, Drakken got this idea of having a place he could go to and not be touched, legally. At least not arrested. And, as long as he didn't provoke more drastic measures against himself, he'd have a 'safe' haven. So, probably because of the name, he chose Isle Drakkon, and the two of them made short work of the dictator and turned running the island over to it's people. That kept anyone from saying that _they _were now dictators, and the islanders should be rescued from them!"

"But, before that was all done, yours truly showed up, to see what they were up to! Ended up getting tossed in jail because I couldn't resist sticking my nose into the Dictator's business, then escaped with two men who were scheduled for execution for reasons I thought were bogus. They ended up becoming President and Chief Magistrate of the Isle later, and I became a heroine of the revolution, almost despite myself! But I was still suspicious, and the following summer I went there to investigate some rumors I really should have let Wade check out better, first!"

Ron frowned, puzzled. "When did this happen, KP? Where was I?"

"Doing your 'Camp Therapy'." Ron nodded, while Kim explained to the others, "Ron did a tour as voluntary counselor at his old summer camp last year to exorcise some old ghosts, as he put it. Anyway, when I got to Isle Drakkon, I went straight to Drakken's home, an estate of sorts with a separate house for Shego, which I saw as just a new lair. Which was my big mistake!"

She shook her head slowly, face grim. "I attacked one of the security guards who caught me on the estate, thinking he was just another henchman. But he wasn't, he was a local policeman hired as part time security, and the police were even trained at Drakken's expense in the United States! In short, I trespassed on private property without due cause, because Drakken wasn't involved in criminal activity, nor was he subject to arrest or extradition there. And, I committed assault on a man doing his legitimate duty, a _policeman!_ The Judge should have thrown the book at me, and that's my own opinion!"

"Why didn't he?" Charley asked, a frown creasing her face.

Kim sighed, "First, the guard. He told the Judge he recognized me on sight, and realized why I was actually there, and had the opportunity to end things peacefully by simply telling me the truth, but he couldn't resist trying me on. So, he said getting beaten up was his fault, and he didn't want me blamed! Second, Drakken himself. He didn't press trespassing charges, for reasons of his own he refused to explain to me." Kim looked inquiringly at Shego, who refused to meet her eyes. "_It's personal, I guess. A secret Drakken shared with her? Since she was the pre-cured Shego, I __doubt_ she _asked him not to press charges!" _Aloud, she continued. "But, the Judge didn't want to let me off Scott-free, and he was right not to! But he still let me off with no sentence, to avoid adverse publicity! I was never more resentful of my own fame then I was right then."

"Anyway, they let me go, but I couldn't let it go. I went back to Drakken's, to apologize to him, since that was the most humiliating thing I could think of doing, and instead ran into an attempt by hired mercenaries to kill him and Shego, so the old government could be put back in charge. Things got a little rough..." She glanced nervously at Ron, who didn't know the whole story, "..but it came out all right in the end. I survived, and hopefully learned a lesson or two about pre-judging people." Kim noted that Shego was lost in thought, she had some bad memories about the incident, especially about being helpless when the attack took place.

Ron was scowling, he sensed Kim holding things back, but he was disinclined to force the issue. So he asked a question instead. "So Shego has a house there, too? Oh! I get it, the other one she built for Doctor Chosa, right?" Shego blushed slightly as Kim nodded in response to Ron's question. "Even before she had her brain fixed? That doesn't sound like the Shego we fought all the time! So, she had her moments of being nice, even then?"

"Big difference between Kimmie and Eliana, Stoppable!" Shego stated rather forcefully. "Kimmie was a nuisance to me, Eliana was a friend, and even at my most evil, I...couldn't stop caring about her, okay?" Her blush had deepened as she spoke. She suddenly turned towards Charley. "To change the subject, why don't we forget the past and concentrate on the present, and whatever future is ahead of us, Okay? You know things, or have a theory, I don't care which, let's hear it!" Then she spotted JJ raising her hand. "What?"

"Since we might not get back to it, what was that 'leagues' comment about?" Shego rolled her eyes, but Kim chose to reply, "Just something people have said, that in my going to Go City this last time, I was stepping up, league-wise. They didn't mean the danger level, though, I was always in physical danger, and Macheles didn't have death-rays, or stuff like that! It was more the danger to my naiveté, or maybe even my soul, seeing what a man like that was capable of in the way of evil. The closest I'd come to true evil in human form before that was Monkeyfist, when his obsession for power was at it's peak, and he was insane with his desire to have it."

When this elicited no further comment, Shego turned to Charley, who held her hand up to forestall the repeated request. "Before I get into that, we need to wait for some other people to arrive, with information to back up my theory, because with all that's happening we can't afford to take the chance I'm wrong! Incidentally, from now on, I think you or Kim has to be close to the babies at all times!"

Shego and Kim both scowled, and regarded their sleeping daughters. "Why?" they both asked simultaneously, and no one dared say 'jinx' this time.

Charley shook her head. "I think someone is destabilizing time around us, that's why we've been getting these visions. Your little girls only exist in this reality, and I'm afraid if things go wrong, this one might not be the permanent one! I mean, there's just something in the back of my mind, telling me you need to keep them close, to anchor them, if things get...unsettled?" She gave a helpless shrug, "But I don't know where this is coming from, honestly!"

Both mothers looked at each other. "Good enough for me!" Kim stated, and Shego nodded agreement.

"Charley?" JJ said, "With all these attacks, what if something happens to you, before you tell us what you believe happened? I trust you Charley, but I think you need to tell us now and let the others catch up later!"

Charley looked unhappy with that argument. But before she could reply, an unfamiliar voice spoke. "This matter is of interest to us, as well, and as I do not believe your meeting will remained uninterrupted, We shall take a hand!"

"Not again!" Shego muttered. She felt a flutter in her stomach, and looked quickly around. Nothing seemed to have changed, until she realized two previously empty seats at the table were now occupied, one by a very familiar form. "Doctor D? And who are you?" She asked a total stranger suddenly sitting between the Reeder twins.

"Um, Brigadier General Frank Pan, United States Air Force?" 'Panda' was sitting there in his shirtsleeves, looking around in surprise. Then he looked behind Shego. "Doctor Director? What's going on here?" Shego spun to see Betty Director standing behind her chair, tunic undone, and in her stocking feet. "Don't ask me, I was changing out of my flight suit..." she started to reply, before her attention was drawn to the sudden appearance of the now-blond Rani, and Brigadier General Steadfast MacLaren, standing in the entryway. Beyond them, the cafeteria looked normal, just empty.

Both Kim and Shego tensed up at the sight of their former captor, who regarded them rather coolly, all things considered. "There will be no violence permitted here, and it would be pointless, in any event!" came the voice again, "You are in a state of Temporal Grace, and are incapable of inflicting or suffering any physical harm!" The Rani's lips twitched slightly at this. As a Time Lord, she'd been fully aware of that fact from the moment she'd arrived. Another distraction served to divert everyone from the tension in the air.

"Whoa!" Came a familiar voice, and all turned to see Wade Load appear in one corner, seated behind a large table laden with multiple computers, looking around in astonishment. He was dressed in his pajamas. Shego checked her watch. "Late night, Nerdlinger?"

"Uh, yeah, I set up a search program to check all those videos of you and Kim, looking for keywords like 'Chosa', 'Rani', etcetera. Took me a while to get it running, before I went to bed. No hits on either of those, by the way."

"Now!" Came the unknown voice again, "We have been summoned here, and have found things in great disorder! Many on our kin are missing! I request an explanation! Once this is concluded you will all be returned from whence you were brought, with no time elapsed. You will, however, retain all memories of this meeting. Now, proceed, and we will ask questions only if they become pertinent to us!"

To Charley's embarrassment, all eyes turned to her. "Well! Where to begin? I think we first need a name for our foe, which I hope the Rani will provide."

One eyebrow quirked, the Rani gazed at Charley. "And why would I help you at all?"

Charley gave her a level gaze. "Well, you already told UNIT about your 'companion' in escaping Gallifrey's destruction?"

The Rani looked startled, and MacLaren couldn't hide a raised eyebrow, which was directed at Charley, not the Rani. Apparently realizing denial would be counterproductive, MacLaren squared his shoulders and addressed Doctor Director. "The other fugitive is clearly UNIT's responsibility, and I withheld that information for that reason alone, with the agreement of my superiors in Geneva." Betty didn't reply, but her disapproving expression spoke volumes.

Charley addressed the Rani again. "You've been having visions too, of course." The Rani showed the briefest flicker of surprise, but didn't reply. So Charley continued. "And in one of them, I believe, you were murdered?" This time the surprise on the Rani's face was evident. Charley nodded in satisfaction. "You see, the second time our foe tried to wipe out humanity, he used a large amount of Tempusite in his plan. Now, if in that alternate future this occurred in you had collected all that substance, then the only way he could have acquired it is from you, and I don't see you handing it over freely, it would have probably been over your dead body, as the saying goes."

As Betty took an empty seat she found a folder sitting in front of her. She opened it, and began to read even as she kept track of the conversation.

The Rani's expression had become neutral, as she worked through the information provided, but then slowly turned livid. "That...ill-conceived bastard!" She spat out, "I didn't recognize him, he must have regenerated..."

"Since you first arrived on earth, seven years ago?" Charley asked. The Rani became impassive again, but nodded assent. "But, the Matrix told me there are only two true Time Lords left, so what is he?"

After only a moment's hesitation, the Rani replied, "A clone of a Time Lord, that's what!"

Charley looked doubtful. "The Matrix told me...told me two facts I couldn't relate to this matter previously! One was that Time Lords forbade cloning of their own species...Oh, because they tried it, and something went wrong?" The Rani barely had time for a brief nod, before Charley spoke again. "He...the one Ar'Ithane, the leader of the Interventionists, he said they'd tested his DNA! But that means...the only Time Lord the Ar'Ithane would trust that much is the Doctor, so the clone must be of him!" Some of her friends tried to hide their reactions as they realized Charley was putting on an act of just now figuring things out.

The Rani apparently bought it, from her reply, "Very Good, if a little slow, Miss Cob! Yes, we cloned the Doctor, in his original incarnation! You see, he was quite the influential person on Gallifrey back then with many of the younger Time Lords looking up to him! When he began to speak of intervening on a small scale in the lives of the lesser races, he caused a furor! Then he up and left Gallifrey, taking his granddaughter with him, and many thought he was going to practice what he preached! Ironically, he wasn't, not then. He just wanted to get away from our fellow Time Lords for a while, and kept a low profile to avoid attracting attention."

"So, you tried to replace him with a clone?" Betty Director asked.

The Rani nodded. "For the record, I was against it, I foresaw difficulties. But, once the decision was made by a handful of us in private, my scientific curiosity forced me to participate in the process. At first, everything went fine. It wasn't until he first regenerated that we found out he was flawed. He almost immediately found out who and what he was and began to deeply resent the Doctor. And then, his basic instability surfaced! With each subsequent regeneration, his hatred for the Doctor has increased, but he couldn't just kill the Doctor, though he tried that once, using the Gallifreyan Legal System! But then he found out his existence is bound to the Doctor, so he sought a different way to punish him. Wiping out humanity would certainly qualify!"

"And what did you plan to do with the original?" Betty asked, eye narrowing as she looked up from her reading.

The Rani looked mildly unsettled by the question. "That's a touchy subject! Some members of our little cabal thought the Doctor had left Gallifrey for good, or found other reasons to leave him be. A few, however, thought that he had to be...there is no other word, eliminated! For the record again, I was _not_ one of those few!"

MacLaren regarded her incredulously. "Does the Doctor know about this 'clone'?"

"That he exists? Yes! But his true nature? That I'm not sure about. After that first attempt on the Doctor's life, some sort of explanation was given to him, or maybe it was the Doctor himself who thought it up! Not sure. Anyway, your foe now calls himself the Valeyard."

Shego stared at her in astonishment, then snorted incredulously. "Super-intelligent race, and you use simple anagrams to hide your names? 'Reithan' for 'The Rani', and 'Edward Lawrence Vincent Dray' for the Valeyard?" Pan's jaw dropped, while Betty Director nodded to herself.

The Rani gave Shego a stony look. "If you think that's bad, you should have known the Master, once upon a time! Every alias he used was some play on words based on his own title. It was as if he were waving a red flag, 'Here I am Doctor! Come foil my plan!'"

"But, how did this Valeyard fool all the doctors..." Frank Pan began, then paused, "Maybe that's why he arranged his own medical examinations for his own convenience!"

"A Time Lord with proper preparation can pass for a human under a routine exam, General." Charley commented, "The Doctor's done it more than once! And so, I assume, did the Rani, while living as Elizabeth Reithan." The Rani gave a brief nod in agreement. "But, the Rani may have been planning on staying in that role, and living that life, when she first arrived here." That caused a touch of surprise to show on the Rani's face. "I mean, her home world had been destroyed, and all but one of her people slain. If she didn't consider the Valeyard as one."

The Rani's reply was heated, "No, I did not! But, how do you surmise I may have wanted to live on this dreary little mudball?"

"Because you never learned the activation code for the Trainer TARDIS, even though you were capable of doing so." Charley replied, "I know you had to share it with the Valeyard, but you obviously had solo access to it, so you _could_ have left. Even with just spacial travel enabled, you might have left here. But you didn't, and you didn't learn the code earlier, because it would have tempted you to give up and go." The Rani's look turned to grudging respect for Charley's reasoning.

"But, Kim spoke of leagues, earlier, and you were out of yours, just with the emphasis reversed. You were a Major League player in a Minor League park, and I think you began to resent it! Or, as you said before, perhaps your scientific curiosity, and/or your lack of scruples, led you to do something you knew would lead to flight, if the Doctor found out. One way or the other, after kidnapping Kim and Shego, your days here were numbered."

Leaving the Rani deep in thought, Charley turned to address the room. "Let's start at the beginning! Seven years ago, two flesh and blood beings occupied the previously vacant lives of Doctor Elizabeth Reithan, and Doctor Manof Yasler. There is ample documentation of their lives and careers before then, but it's all faked."

"Yasler?" Ron exclaimed, as Kim looked at Charley with a frown, "He's that nut case we closed down last November, in Eastern Europe! He said he wanted to wipe out humanity, but I think he was just a blowhard!" Then Ron caught Betty's wince, and Shego's quick glance at Kim. "Um, wasn't he?"

Charley shook her head. "No Ron, he meant what he said, and was about to do just that, when you two stopped him! He was an expert in genetically vectored toxins. And his name is another anagram, and a kind of obvious one, 'Slayer of Man'. He played the crackpot just to keep the big agencies from coming after him, not realizing they'd pass him off to Kim to deal with!" As the two teenagers looked on in shock, Charley looked to Doctor Director. "The question is, does anyone know what happened to him, after Global Justice arrested him?"

Betty nodded. "Global Justice Europe had to surrender him to the authorities of the country in which he was captured, as per our charter. And they, due to certain 'connections' between Yasler and several prominent officials, executed him quietly, or so they thought! According to the CIA, he was taken to a remote ravine, where he was to be shot, and thrown in the river below. But he saved them the bullet by jumping! The fall was of such a height they naturally assumed he died."

"They were wrong." Charley stated quietly, "He regenerated, and started over! But first, he tried to rid himself of his nemesis, Kim Possible. By shooting down an aircraft she was on, and nearly killing her and Ron!" This caused those not aware of the visions, and their possible meaning, to stare at the teens, looking for some sign of serious injury. "He settled for _almost_ killing them, believing Kim would never come back from her injuries. And he began to assemble his new plan. He needed four things, two of which he got from the Rani, the Tempusite, and the Strange Matter. The other two things were Anti-Matter, and that Air Force bomber." Charley explained the Valeyard's plan, as she remembered herself describing it in the vision. The Rani listened intently, nodding her understanding.

Now, Charley asked the Rani, "As to the first, didn't he know how to make Anti-Matter? Oh, yes, what was that about 'instability', that you mentioned before?"

"He doesn't have the Doctor's intellect, not since his first body, anyway! He might have been able to make Anti-Matter on Gallifrey, but with primitive Earth technology? No. As to the latter, well, he does regenerate, but unlike a true Time Lord, he doesn't leave his past selves behind! In fact, he spontaneously, and sometimes possibly deliberately changes back and forth between them!" She relished the shocked looks on her audience's faces. "Mind you, memory is a bit tricky! His latest incarnation, which I assume is this General Dray you speak of, can remember everything his past incarnations do, when they're dominant. But his third incarnation, shall we say, can't remember anything his fourth or later ones do!"

"That could explain the schizophrenic nature of some of his attacks on us!" JJ exclaimed.

"I have a question!" Shego broke in, "Is one of his regenerations, or whatever, a bastard who paints his face with red stripes?"

The Rani smirked. "Paint? My dear Shego, that isn't paint, those are tattoos, and those 'stripes' as you call them, cover far more then his face!" She sobered, "I also warn you that incarnation of the Valeyard is by far the most evil, by any standard you care to quote! He got those markings from a very dangerous cult, and what he did to earn them.." She actually looked a bit green around the gills, "I don't think are suitable for discussion in mixed company."

"You don't have to tell us he's evil!" Ron assured her, vehemently. "Do those tattoos have any meaning, or purpose?"

"Yes, actually! They cause living creatures to perceive him in a 'displaced' manner, a meter or so from his true position, or even more, if all of the tattoo is exposed!"

Belle frowned. "Didn't work when we were in the lodge, then, Charley nailed him good with her first hit!"

"But I was looking through the eyes of the boys as well as my own, at the time." Charley pointed out, "And that may have defeated his defense. Now, let's get back on track! He went to Doctor Drakken to obtain the Anti-Matter, and later killed him. He killed the Rani for her materials as well, and when Kim and Ron tried a 'comeback' that winter, he tried to kill them, too!" Though neither Brigadier knew what Charley was talking about at this point, they held their tongues, intrigued nevertheless by the tale.

"Now, as to me and the girls. We became involved because the Gallifreyan Matrix arranged it. I believe she actually meant for us to avenge the Rani's death, the first time! Since only she and the Doctor continue to justify the Matrix's continued existence, she, the Matrix that is, must have been quite angry at the Valeyard! But, in the end, we failed her, though we got another chance, Thanks, ironically, to the Valeyard himself!" She now turned to Ron. "Ron, from your vision of the day the tower was destroyed, could you tell what time of year it was?"

Ron thought for a moment, then nodded. "The tree limbs were bare, but I saw some green buds along them. So, early spring?"

Charley frowned. "Well, he couldn't get hold of the bomber until then, whereas this time, he acquired it much earlier, why?" Frank Pan and Betty Director exchanged glances, and knowing nods, as Charley continued, "Anyway, we did stop him, but me, Shego, and Kim were killed doing it, and he escaped, using a Time Ring."

That sparked the Rani's interest, but then she shook her head. "That was certainly a one-use ring, it would have been among the equipment in the TARDIS!"

"Interesting." Charley responded, before continuing, "Well, he could have left well-enough alone, but now he decided to really mess with the time lines! He went back in time, and created a new persona, Edward Dray, and became a member of the USAF. And he started to enact the same plan, more or less, though he went about it in a different order, this time!"

"First, by taking charge of the Bomber project..." Betty stated, "And bringing it to completion far earlier than the first time. Then, he bombed Drakken out of his lair, so he could get inside and try and find the secret to making Anti-Matter?" She was looking at Drakken as she said this, but the blue scientist shrugged, noncommittally. "Anyway, to no avail, since Drakken will have purged his computers after initiating a back-up of the data on another system outside his lair. According to several experts, better placement of those bombs would have killed everyone inside."

"But instead, he sealed us in, and probably had some means to dispose of us, if we'd still been there when he arrived!" Shego reasoned. "And there were Charley and friends again, but how?"

Charley grinned. "The Matrix! She had to detect the Valeyard's 'move', and when he started an alternate time line, it saw a way to save the Rani, even if it meant putting her in prison!" Her grin widened at the shocked look on the Time Lord's face. "This time, we pulled it off! However, I do wonder how it manipulated time, in order to pull off that trick?" I mean, it had to have somehow created...copies of us? Otherwise, how could things have worked out the way they have? The events on that other world would never have happened, and we would have no memory of them at all."

Charley paused to take a drink of water before continuing. "He gained allies, this time, both among the humans, and the Ar'Ithane watchers monitoring Earth's interactions with extraterrestrials. For the former, we have Milton Willward, It hink, if only for funding. That's a stretch, but Willwards attack on Kim...bothers me!" She paused thoughtfully, "What was it that was supposed to be causing him anguish before he went after Kim? Something about his father?"

Shego nodded, "Yeah, the old man had a heart attack while in bed with a seventeen year old girl at a hotel, and she thought it was her fault, so she jumped...or did she?"

She looked at Betty Director, who nodded. "If the news of the missing money hasn't already caused the investigation to be re-opened, I'll see that it is! If the father learned about the money disappearing from the accounts, he would most certainly have become a threat to the Valeyard, provided there is a connection!"

"And so might those staff members of Dray's, over the years!" Frank Pan put in, "They may have discovered his imposture, and become a threat, as well. As to those murders..." he looked at the Rani. "You say he 'spontaneously' shifts from one incarnation to another, but how frequently are we talking about?"

"Hard to tell!" she replied, "Though, I strongly suspect the changes are more frequent now due to his destabilization of time! Which brings up an uncomfortable question, he already existed at this time, so where is his 'previous' self? A true Time Lord can co-exist with another incarnation of themselves, but the Valeyard can't!"

Betty regarded Pan, "You're thinking his 'red-striped' persona came out while staying at those bases, and committed the murders?" Pan nodded in response.

"May I continue? Charley asked. Receiving no objections, she did so. "With the Ar'Ithane, he pretended to be the Doctor, claiming he had had an evil regeneration, and now sought to make up for it! Since the watchers were all, or nearly all, interventionists, he found more willing allies for his plan, but again, ignorant ones!"

"Are you saying, my daughter was an interventionist?" Came the voice again.

"Only after seeing a human she had come to care about die, before your daughter reached maturity. The loss made her susceptible to their entreaties. And they seemed to have involved her primarily in case you discovered them, believing you'd show leniency because of her involvement!" Charley replied, then waited for an answer, which took some time to come.

"You are assuming they did not assign her to this particular human, just to gain such a result?" Kim saw Shego's hands close into fists at those words, though she kept her face neutral.

"It's...possible, I guess!" Charley replied, "But it would have been difficult to predict the human in question's actions...well, if they did, it had to be before they made their accord with the Valeyard...or...no, wait! He had to bring them back, _after_ they saw that future, wouldn't he? But then, they'd be crossing their own time lines? Okay, my theory just hit a big snag!"

"Not at all! A future version, if you will, of one Ar'Ithane could merge with their own 'past' self, and become one." Replied the voice. Even the Rani looked intrigued at that concept.

Charley nodded in satisfaction."So your daughter, after witnessing Shego's death, is brought back in time a year, and merges with herself? Thus sharing the memories of that future? Oh! And then, she sets herself a goal, that to achieve adulthood, she'd save Shego! Then she begins to doubt she's doing that, and that triggered regression!"

A touch of alarm manifested in the voice. "It's far more complicated, Miss Cob, but there's no reason to reveal all of our secrets to you, is there?"

Shego spoke up. "Can you show some consideration for your daughter, please? If only because she may have been too young to deal with death?"

"Miss Whitlock, my daughter is now the equivalent of an infant, and would not understand why she was being punished. So it would be pointless to do so at this time. However, when she grows older, and regains her memories of this experience, we will have to have words! And it will be between me and her, though I do appreciate your concern."

"To continue," Charley stated, "After failing to obtain the secret to making Anti-Matter this time, the Valeyard apparently took steps to keep Doctor Drakken himself available." She looked to Betty. "Can you say for certain if Dray was responsible for Doctor Drakken suddenly becoming unwanted by other authorities?" Betty nodded. "Okay, that's another good guess on my part! But, before he could obtain Doctor Drakken himself and get the secret from him, his plan suffered another blow when we caused the Tempusite to be confiscated by UNIT." Frank Pan's eyes suddenly widened, but Charley continued before he could speak, "And he reacted rather strongly, sending his bomber after everyone that night!"

Shego started to speak, but Pan cut in. "I'll bet I now know why he turned down the post at UNIT-NORAM, too much a possibility of his secret being exposed!" MacLaren and Betty Director nodded, the others were unsure what he was talking about.

Shego pressed on with her own question. "What about this bomber? Does he control it all the time, or does he ever let his allies have control?"

"I _suspect_ control of the bomber is being shared." Charley said, "But exactly who is responsible for which attacks, I have no clue."

Betty Director now spoke up. "These soldiers we captured all seem to have a strong leader they believe in, and so far have refused to betray, but..." She held up the report she'd read, "At least three of them as civilians were employed by Reverend Willard's Foundation at some time in the past three years, so there's a connection, if a tenous one!"

"So..." Charley went on, "That's how his plans to obtain the necessary materials for his plan failed! But, now we need to talk about his other plan to eliminate his enemies, before we could interfere! I refer to Kim, Shego, and the four of us." she indicated her friends. "Again, he simplified things a bit much! He saw our defeat of him to be the result of Kim's spirit, Shego's powers, and mine and the girls' gear. So he tried to destroy or deprive us of all those things!"

"I believe he targeted Shego first, but happenstance deprived him of the tool he needed to control her. Wade, I hate to ask this, but can you show me some of the video footage from Go City? Oh, we need a screen!" As soon as she said this, a large plasma screen appeared on one wall.

Kim, Shego, and Ron were all scowling. "Why do we have to look at that!" Shego protested.

"Trust me, there's a good reason!" Charley replied contritely. Then the screen lit up, showing the Dunn Theater stage, with Macheles on it. "We only need a few seconds, Wade!" Charley told the boy genius. She then turned to Betty again. "Did Abby find out about the camera that supposedly took this?"

"No Federal Agent remembers finding the camera, Charley. The news report was apparently based on an offhand comment a Go City cop made about the FBI confiscating it to examine for evidence of it's owner. But he was basically talking through his hat."

Charley nodded, "I thought so. Wade, loop this bit, and then show us something benign from the footage taken in the Rani's lair, side-by-side."

"You got it, Charley!" Wade replied. The Rani scowled as she looked at the screen. An image popped up, Kim and Shego in the supply room, Kim with too many crackers in her mouth, crumbs dribbling down her chin onto her clothes. Wade took shelter behind his CPUs as twin Emerald Lasers seemed to lock onto him.

"He was watching me!" The Rani spat out. "But how?"

Charley pointed up at Saul, hovering over her shoulder. "Same way I do it, actually! I recognized certain characteristics of these views when I first saw them! After years of looking through the boys' eyes, it was easy to recognize a skull's-eye view!" She looked around. "And we are all familiar with the skulls in question!"

"Yeah, we sure are!" Shego exclaimed sourly, "I left George with Milly and the Loads! That's how he knew where to send his kidnappers! And why haven't I noticed his absence since then?"

"Suggestion, from the Ar'Ithane." Charley replied calmly, "A simple one, that none of you take note of any absences on the part of the three new 'boys'. So if they zipped off to do something for the Valeyard and returned, you wouldn't realize they'd been gone! They also kept me confused and unable to hook up with my own boys, let alone the new ones. If I had, I would have found they were already 'connected' to someone else! Or rather something, since he used a computer instead of his own brain. Probably because of his persona shifts. One thing, though, he duplicated my boys exactly! I wonder why he didn't ask for greater powers in his?"

"He would not have received them!" Came the Leader's voice, "In fact, your 'boys' have far too many capabilities, relative to the ones we create for our children! The teaching machine who aided you in creating them must have overindulged you, to encourage you to help it in turn. It matters little now, your companions will not exist much longer."

Charley closed her eyes and grimaced, as the others all looked at her. She shook her head. "We can discuss that later! We need to continue this!"

"You're saying the Valeyard was at the Dunn that night?" Kim asked, "Or, just one of his skulls? I know why he was observing Macheles, and I can guess what use he'd have been to the Valeyard!" She exchanged looks with Shego, who nodded grimly. "You don't think he arranged any of the events there, do you?" Kim finished.

Charley frowned. "I don't see how. He'd have had to know you were going there, and know you'd end up at the theater. But, you didn't come up with the plan that led you there until just before, right? He couldn't have anticipated your actions, that I can see!"

Kim considered that for a moment, then nodded a reluctant agreement. "Interesting coincidence, then!"

Charley didn't like that notion, but pressed on. "Not knowing if or when we'd show up, he next proceeded to act against Kim, and caused a lot of us to make a wrong assumption! Me, especially! Maybe he never intended to act against you at all, this time?" She sounded very doubtful.

"Sorry, but he definitely may have tried to repeat his previous strategy." Betty announced, drawing all eyes to her. She again tapped the folder in front of her. "First, though, where did this come from?" She looked upwards as she spoke.

"Both reports were on their way to you from various sources, but I believed it might be enlightening to you if you read them now." Came the Leader's voice.

"I thought so." Betty replied, then addressed the room. "The French authorities have two men in custody, though one is in a coma, and no one's shedding any tears about that. They're professional assassins, and one has admitted to trying to kill Kim at the chemical company. It seems the toxin that caused her problem was a binary one. The second part was the chemical that was splashed around, especially on Kim. The first had to be applied earlier, at the specific location where the disease manifested." She looked expectantly at Kim.

The teen involuntarily moved one hand to her chest as her mind went back..."The elevator!" She suddenly exclaimed, "I mean...when we were getting off the elevator, the assistant manager jostled me! He hit me in the chest with his elbow!" Beside her, Ron blinked, then went suddenly pale.

Betty was nodding. "The patch on his sports jacket's elbow had the first part. Ron, what's wrong?"

Ron looked at Kim, obviously a bit shaken. "KP, do you remember him saying something kind of inappropriate while taking us to meet the manager?"

Kim made a face. "Yes, I certainly do! But why?" Then a thought shot into her head, and she paled as Ron confirmed it.

"He elbowed me as he said it, the same elbow..." He trailed off as he rubbed his ribs with one hand. Then Saul was right there scanning his ribs at the spot.

"No need, Miss Cob." the Leader announced, "He is free of any...lethal toxins. The contents of his stomach may not be healthy, but..." Charley still waited to see what her bracer said before relaxing.

Betty continued her narrative. "Their original plan hinged on Kim choosing to wait for Shego in the store room. The bucket of chemical was originally in there, precariously balanced, ideal for one of Ron's little accidents." Ron grinned sheepishly, "Of course, they had a means to tip it over remotely. Within that small space, you both would have been saturated. But then they learned that Shego had shown up, unexpectedly, and changed their plans on the fly. While the Manager distracted everyone with a brief pep talk, his partner moved the chemical to the table, so there'd be more witnesses to whatever happened. Then the assistant manager just had time to put his rigged jacket on and get downstairs to meet Kim and Ron at the door."

"But because of the way the chemical spilled, Ron wasn't hit." Charley observed.

"Not really important, Kim was the target." Betty replied solemnly. Kim looked a bit pale at that. "They both also had a small aerosol canister containing the second part of the toxin, in case none splashed where it needed to. They were sure they could get it on unnoticed if need be."

"When I arrived, I didn't have a clue what was really going on." Shego spoke up, "They went into an act for the benefit of the staff I guess, and guided me to Kimmie's hiding place. But, are you saying I'm not responsible for activating Kim's disease?"

Betty shook her head. "If anything, you altered it. The men were told that it would take less then twenty-four hours to kill Kim, yet it didn't."

"And Charley noticed how the two guys reacted to your plasma being close to it, they knew something might have gone wrong." Ron pointed out. He looked at Shego. "Why were you there?"

Shego shrugged. "I heard the same rumors that Nerdlinger did, and wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be framed for something."

Doctor Drakken spoke for the first time. "Where did this poison come from originally?"

"They were sent by their anonymous employer to a location where it was hidden. They thought it might have been there for a year or two." Betty informed him, then speculated. "Probably one of 'Manoff Yasler's' creations, if I had to guess, that Dray directed them to."

"In other words, Shego, you saved Kim twice, first with your plasma.." Charley stated, "And then by taking Kim and getting her the medicine she needed afterwards, you followed through!" Shego actually blushed and squirmed a bit as Kim beamed at her.

Then the Rani cleared her throat. "Actually, they had insufficient medicine to cure her, in my informed opinion! If anyone, _I _saved her by excising the disease from her body!"

Shego glared at the Time Lord, but Kim gave a curt nod. "Your method may not have been the best, but I guess you did save my life, for which I thank you, but then you turned around and nearly killed me with your experiment!"

The Rani looked the girl in the eye, "And gave you a daughter that you obviously cherish. Not my intent, of course, but you didn't come out too badly, Miss Possible!"

Kim nodded again, but replied, "Except for memories of what you did, which I will never be able to forget!" The Rani broke eye contact at that, looking off to one side, jaw tense.

"Both of the assassins will get what they deserve, according to the French." Betty Director finished.

Charley let everyone have time to consider these revelations before continuing.

"Back to my story, when me and the girls arrived, he used the Ar'Ithane to find a way to disarm us, possibly to avoid overtaxing himself. They used 'suggestions', as we now know, but made sure we were able to pursue our mission to save Kim." She looked upwards as well. "Are we free of _all _suggestions now?"

After a perceptible hesitation, her answer came. "All suggestions implanted in you by my kindred are now gone, Miss Cob."

Charley nodded. "Somewhere along the line, the Valeyard realized they were on to him, or highly suspicious, and he somehow managed to trap them. I know he didn't kill them, because their kin would have known if that happened!"

The Rani scowled. "There was nothing on the TARDIS that could have been used to trap a life form such as an Ar'Ithane, _that_ I'm sure of!"

The Leader's voice came again. "There are few ways to harm my people, and fewer still to trap them, yet Miss Cob is correct, they cannot be dead. Freeing them I may have to leave up to you humans, though, as you fight your foe. Is there any more pertinent information from anybody?"

"Just that the Valeyard also acquired funds to operate his plan through the projects he ran, I believe, by contributing to them himself, while recording the money for those developments as being paid to non-existent research labs." Betty commented. She looked at the Rani, "I assume his scientific acumen is sufficient for that theory to be true?"

"His scientific 'acumen' is not equal to the Doctor's but does exceed that of a normal human scientist, I assure you!" the Time Lord replied sourly.

"So, how much does he have, and does anyone on his side know the truth about him, and what he's up to?" Ron asked, surprising a few people.

"As much as...one hundred sixty-three million, that we know of, have to check his past project records for any other signs. That's adding the missing Willward Foundation money, and that which he siphoned from the bomber project." Betty answered. "As to the latter, I doubt any of his human allies know. The soldiers he has used are all ex-servicemen, but ones who never saw combat while enlisted. I believe they also believe they are eliminating evil from the world, and probably convinced that they need to, because we've failed to do so!"

Shego shook her head. "Hardly an original attitude!" She turned to Charley, "Any idea where those three missing skulls are? And why doesn't he have four, like you?"

"Well, he does, number four is probably being used to fly the bomber, when he has control of it! T-Girl pointed out that it made decisions during it's attack that were beyond what she could determine of it's capabilities. As to where? George wasn't on your plane coming back from Middleton; Walt was last seen, I believe, on the helicopter Kim rode back from Upperton. And Goldie last seen here, during the attack with those jumping ships. Which I believe were built using the notes Doctor Laird took concerning T-Girl, meaning someone inside Global Justice has been recruited to the Valeyard's, or more likely Willward's, team, possibly from a sense of frustration about your lack of success against supervillains, Doctor Director! Sorry to suggest that."

Betty made a dismissive gesture. "Nothing that hadn't occurred to me, Charley. Now, do you think those two skulls, Walt and Goldie, are here in my base?"

"They could well be, Ma'am! Wade, any luck finding a way to penetrate the 'boys' stealth fields? Or jam their teleport capability?"

"Not yet, Charley."

"Hmm." Charley mused. "If his earlier incarnations don't know what his later ones get up to, and it's the latest using a computer to control his skulls, would the earlier ones be likely to be able to use it?" She directed that question to the Rani, who thought a moment before answering.

"Only if he chose to leave them instructions as to how, Miss Cob. But I consider it unlikely, I doubt he'd trust them not to do something he wouldn't approve of with them."

"Maybe that's why they helped us escape the house in the Yucatan, he wasn't running them!" Ron suggested, but then frowned, "No, he flew the bomber through one, he must have been in control!"

Kim looked thoughtful for a moment, then addressed the Rani. "Are his changes triggered by emotions?"

"Emotions linked to specific types of events, yes. For instance, anger at a failure of his intellect, but not anger from being clumsy."

"So, when Thundagirl stopped his big bomb hitting the house, he may have lost control of his emotions, enough to trigger a switch, and lost control of his skulls, who then cooperated with us...to keep their cover intact, or because they, too, have their own personalities, like Charley's?"

Shego nodded. "As good a theory as any, Princess."

"Did you say Miss Cob's companions have 'personalities'?" The Leader asked. "One moment...this is...unusual. For the moment, however, it's not important! It's time to return you all to your places. I wish you good luck in your battle!"

A moment later, Frank Pan, Steadfast MacLaren, the Rani, Wade, and Betty Director vanished. Those remaining looked around curiously. Then Ron looked up towards the ceiling. "So, I guess that means you're not done with us, yet?"

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*The events mentioned as occurring on Isle Drakkon are covered in my story "No Country for Young Heroines"

Please, Read and Review!


	28. Offensive

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, or any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

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Frank Pan found himself back in his own office. A quick glance at the clock on his desk confirmed that no time had passed since his abrupt trip to wherever he'd just been. He promptly buzzed his assistant. "Lieutenant, connect me with the boss, and see if you can run down the Judge Advocate General's location."

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The Rani had been back in her cell for ten minutes when the door opened to admit Brigadier MacLaren. "Well, that was certainly an enlightening diversion, wasn't it?" the General asked.

The Rani was silent a moment before speaking. "That girl was right, I _did_ come here to start a new life. And I did come to resent the relatively primitive nature of this planet. I've always been a bit spoiled, you know? So, I let a brief period of frustration ruin six years work! Once I started doing those 'questionable' experiments, I told myself that that was my true calling, not helping a backward species discover things I already knew about! And there was some truth to that, but that wasn't the point! The point was my old life was over, even if I had gained control of the TARDIS, it wasn't a home for me. My own world was gone, and I needed a new home."

She looked up at MacLaren's impassive face. "Even if it was more primitive. Even if I couldn't get the respect I felt I was accustomed to, without having to work for it! I just let my pride and ego overrule my judgment, a failing I have tried to overcome for...well, many lives." She began to study her own hands as she continued. "What would you say, if I offered to assist UNIT as a scientific advisor?"

The Brigadier studied her for a minute before replying ,"Well, would you be asking for laboratory facilities, access to classified information, that sort of thing?"

The Rani smirked. "Not at all, as if you'd give me such access! No, if you can find a couple of people with quick minds and thick skins, for I will not be a _nice_ boss, I believe I can do everything remotely, from the 'comfort' of my cell! Through video and virtual links, that is. I know you possess the technology. And for a first contribution, I can list everything else I know of that should have been in a Trainer TARDIS' inventory that the Valeyard might now possess."

MacLaren slowly nodded. "We may therefore have the beginnings of an understanding!"

The Rani regarded him archly. "After all, I've already shown how coorperative I've can be, by not mentioning to them the fact that I informed you of the Valeyard's presence as soon as I arrived here from Thailand, though they figured it out themselves!"

MacLaren gave her a stony look. "The Valeyard should be UNIT's responsibility, I'd have rather not had other agencies muddying the waters while we search for him!" Then he thawed a bit. "And yes, your silence on the matter was appreciated. I'll get to work on seeing whether your proposal is acceptable to Geneva."

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Betty Director found herself back in the locker room she'd been changing in, at the Military base her ride had dropped her off at after a genuinely exhilarating trip from Washington. She promptly grabbed her cellphone and selecting a number from her secure list, hit 'speed-dial'. "Abby? I trust you're back at HQ?"

"Betts! I was just about to call you, Drakken's missing from his cell!"

Betty scowled. "He wasn't returned? Abby, check the cafeteria, see if Shego, Kim, or any of the others are there!"

"Already did, they're all missing, too! Do you think Shego may have pulled a fast one?"

Betty hesitated, unsure what to say about her experience. "No, Abby, this time it's not Shego, or any of the others. I'm afraid something's going on over our heads!"

"Yeah, well, speaking of 'over our heads', we just got a request for landing clearance from an Air Force transport, which violated the secure approach protocols for the base! They say the Secretary of the Air Force is aboard, in person!"

Alarm bells went off in Betty's head at the mention of an Air Force ship. "Abby, listen to me! That ship may land, but is _not _to be taken into the hangar! Additionally, if there's a Major General named Dray aboard it, even accompanying the Secretary, he's to be arrested, is that clear?! No, correction! Not arrested, but detained, because he should soon be officially wanted by the Air Force itself."

There was silence for a moment. "Detaining an Air Force General? You're the boss, but you'd better be able to justify this to the CEC, Betts, when the time comes!"

"I will, trust me! You and Graham meet the ship, and take some tactical people with you. Oh, and Abby? Try and keep your hands off each other while you're at it, Okay?" Betty disconnected before her aide could reply, a wicked grin momentarily crossing her features, before they returned to a grim set. "_Okay, you got your revenge for earlier, Miss Director, now grow up! If the others weren't returned to their 'rightful' places, then where in creation are they?"_

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At a slight sound behind him, the Master turned from his perusal of a computer screen, affecting a nonchalant air. Which fled immediately when he saw who'd made the noise. "_I recognize those markings, and I know what he had to do to earn them!"_ He retained his poise with difficulty, studying the red-striped visage gazing curiously back at him from across the room.

"Well, well! Whatever have my younger selves been up to, in my absence? I know who you are, of course! The question I ask myself, to what use did whichever of my other incarnations brought you to life intend to put you?" While still retaining the clothes 'Dray' had worn, a simple shirt and slacks, the shirt was now open to the waist, exposing his tattooed chest, incidentally increasing the 'displacement' effect of said tattoo.

"Ah! Well, I believe my role was to supervise an attack against Global Justice Headquarters, actually! I further believe..."

"Global Justice! No, that won't do at all, my dear Master! A big, impersonal, soulless organism like that? No, I much prefer keeping things on a personal level, myself!" He paused, and closing his eyes, began to chant. The Master backed up, wary of the effect of whatever he was invoking.

After three minutes of non-stop chanting, the Valeyard's eyes snapped open, and an angry scowl appeared on his face. "Missing! I cannot locate my prey anywhere! Someone with power must be concealing them!" He began to pace aggressively back and forth before the cautious Master. "I'll need to do something to force them out of hiding! An attack on Miss Possible's family, perhaps?" He stopped abruptly, and ran his hands over the surface of one of the transporter Obelisks. "Nice bit of work, if I do compliment myself!"

The Master cleared his throat. "That stratagem has already been attempted! Something destroyed the transporter, and all it's passengers, as well."

The Valeyard scowled at the pseudo Time Lord. "Call me GoGore, because I intend to drench a certain city in...well, you get the point!" He suddenly giggled. "Well! Tried already, and failed? Don't want to repeat my own mistakes, do I?" He sobered. "So, not Miss Possible's family? Only one other family I can think of to strike at, and I have just the instrument!" He turned to the Master. "Well, go ahead with whatever you think my later self wanted! You can use the transporters, I don't need them for this trip!" He started towards the door.

"What are you going to do?" The Master called after him.

"Oh, indulge in Sex, Violence, and other recreational activities!" GoGore replied, executing a brief flourish, before closing the door behind him.

"Hmph!" The Master turned back to the computer, then paused, fingers hovering above the keys. "_Yes, I had better execute some sort of attack, even if it is just a spoiling attack!"_ He frowned. "_Unable to locate his foes? That's troubling, given the abilities the Valeyard should have, if he completed all the stages of that particular sect's rituals! One answer could be that they are now inside a TARDIS, and we know what that means!"_ He shook his head, and spoke aloud, "No use worrying about that now, best to proceed on what I know!"

His fingers began to dance across the keyboard, eyes intent on the screen before him. "Depriving me of my considerable scientific abilities is almost pointless, when one has such helpful menus in one's operating system, my dear, divided, Valeyard!"

Twenty minutes later he entered another chamber in the Valeyard's lair, one dimly lit. In the center stood a tall black cylinder with a silver base. He studied it critically for a moment. "Ingenious!" He muttered, then stepped forward and laid his hands upon it. After a moment he flinched, then smiled grimly. "Ah, so it's true. Well, this could turn a out to be beneficial." He paused as he stepped back, regarding the cylinder. "For both of us!"

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"So, we were set up from the beginning?" Shego mused aloud. There had been no reply to Ron's inquiry, nor any of those the others had made, subsequently. So to fill in the time, Shego had told Drakken about her powers' origin, and it's effect on her behavior. Now she sat next to Kim, both of them on the floor, watching their daughters trying to explore their environment, with as much mobility as they now possessed. Roy hovered overhead, trying to keep track of both girls at once. She looked at Kim. "So you had a tip I'd be at that chemical plant?"

"Wade got a tip you'd been seen casing the place for the previous two days."

Shego frowned. "And you believed that? Me being seen casing a job? I'm vaguely insulted there, Princess!"

"Well, I did wonder! But, I also thought you might be trying to draw me out, to see if I'd come, or stay home nursing my wounds."

Shego nodded thoughtfully, then grimaced. "And maybe it was those wounds that...during that fight, I had you down, and was pressing you, and you were holding me off! But I saw the pain your hands were causing you, and that's what made me break away! I wonder if more exposure to my plasma then could have helped you later?"

Kim sighed, "No way of knowing, Ana!" She looked at Charley, seated now at the head of the table. She seemed to be in her own world, a scowl deepening on her face. "_Something's wrong, obviously! This time, though, she needs to share her thoughts with us, rather then waiting to have all the facts first!"_

"Do you think the plan was for Shego to be blamed when the disease appeared, Kim?" JJ Ko asked. She was leaning back in one of the chairs, feet up on the table.

Shego replied first. "Most likely! Hell, I suspected myself, didn't I?" She caught a brief flinch from Kim. "What's the matter, Princess?"

"Noth...I'm sorry, I probably would have thought so, too, if you hadn't come to me to tell me I might be in danger." Kim replied quietly, looking away from Shego. "Because I don't learn from my own mistakes very well, after all! "

"Shego, this 'behavior modification, or whatever you want to call it?" Belle asked curiously, "Is there any possibility that it had a physical presence in your brain? Such as a form of nanotechnology, perhaps?"

Shego frowned, as did Kim, and most every other adult in the room. "Hey, Charley?" The girl snapped out of whatever was preoccupying her when Shego spoke. "Can your boys see if there's any odd nanites running around in my brain?" Charley blinked, and looked around to see everyone looking at her. "Okay, what did I miss?" After the question was explained, she nodded. "Saul, one scan of Shego's brain, if you please?" Doctor Drakken rose and circled around the table to Charley's seat, to look on as the girl studied her bracer's readouts.

"I never did thank you personally for rescuing us from the lair, Miss Cob." He spoke distractedly, as he looked at the displays himself. "Now that's not right!" He muttered.

"No problem, It's what we do!" Charley replied to his thanks, then frowned. "You're right, that's most odd, and wasn't there when I scanned Shego in the mountain!" Neither paid much attention to Shego's rising alarm and frustration. Shego herself was holding back because of the idea she was being played, and refusing to fall for it.

Oddly, Ron broke the impasse. "Does she have those nanites in her head, or not?"

Charley and Drakken both looked up, surprised. "What? Oh, nothing of the kind, Ronald!" Drakken replied, "It just seems as if someone has shrunk her brain, and..."

"WHAT! If this is some kind of joke..." Shego's anger faded immediately, when a startled Milly began to cry, followed by Amy. She quickly took the frightened baby up in her arms, trying to sooth her. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, that was too loud, I didn't mean to scare you, my little one! Please stop crying, for mommy?" It took a couple of minutes, but both babies were soon quieted, but were still unsettled. They even regarded Roy with uncertainty, despite his best efforts to cheer them.

"I'm sorry, Shego!" Charley said, contritely. "All I can say is, your brain has been reduced in size, but not mass. And, there is now a layer of tissue of some kind, between it and the inside of your skull. The material is based on your DNA, and it's purpose appears to be to prevent concussions by cushioning your brain! And just to make things really interesting, the same thing has been done to Kim!" As the two mothers exchanged glances, Charley's four skulls checked everyone else in the room, but no one else had been 'modified'.

"A very useful adaptation, to be sure!" Drakken commented, "And hardly likely to be a random event! When did you last scan either of their brains, Miss Cob?"

Charley started to speak, then stopped, shook her head, and then answered, "When we left the Rani's lair. Or rather, just before landing at Shego's house. And there was no sign of it then, let me call up the record of those scans!" She did, and both studied them. After a few minutes, Drakken shook his head. "No, no sign at all! Most strange!"

Shego rolled her eyes. "I really hate it when people mess with my head, in any way! Even if it's a 'Useful Adaptation'!" She looked at Kim, grinned, and raised her fist, as if to rap the girl on the head, but Kim pulled back, a matching grin on her face, with just a bit of admonishment in her expression. "So, now I can smack her around a bit, and not worry about damaging her brain?" Shego teased.

Kim shook her head, while retaining the grin. "You wish!"

"Wait! What's this!" Drakken exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention back to him. Charley grimaced slightly. "Oh, I hadn't told Kim about that yet, though I discussed it with her mother, earlier!" Kim's expression became a mix of curiosity and wariness, and Charley blushed. "Sorry, Kim, but you had so many other things to worry about, and no harm appeared to be occurring, so I didn't want to add to your problems! You see, probably ever since that incident in the hangar, there's been these two little pools of energy sitting inside you. One matches Shego's power signature, and the other Ron's, though the power level is far below what I can read in them normally. The power isn't doing anything to you, it's just sitting there, as far as I can tell!" Silence followed this revelation, as everyone thought it over.

Ron broke the silence first, remembering his earlier conversation with Charley. "I got it! When she had Hego's power, her body started to adapt to it, and it didn't return to normal after Hego got his power back!" he stated, triumphantly. "So now, her body can hold power, like my MMP, or Shego's...um, does she have Shego's plasma?"

Charley and Drakken both shook their heads. So, oddly, did Rufus, though no one took note of it. "No, Ron." Charley replied, "The Plasma is produced by a 'program', from what we know, using the power invested in Shego. Kim has a little of the base power itself in her, though I have no idea if she can make use of it in any way." Drakken nodded in agreement.

Kim just stared at the two for a moment. "That's just...why me?"

"Why us, you mean!" Shego snapped, "Who the hell modified us, and when?"

Charley's eyes became unfocused, then a slow smile spread across her face. "You two keep doing things backwards, is all I can say! I think the Rani's responsible for this!"

Shego looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. "Oh, Really? And why would she modify us?"

Charley ignored the sarcasm dripping from that question. "She didn't! Like I said, you did things backwards! After all, children are supposed to inherit traits from their parents, not the other way around!"

Shego's jaw dropped open in shock. She looked at Milly, then Amy, and then Kim. "I blame it all on Possible!"

"Hey!"

"Don't 'hey' me, Kimmie! You're the one that did all that 'linking' thing in the chamber, not me! I was just lying there, in my own little world, watching all the pretty colors, and you went and connected all the dots, now, didn't you?" A slight, smug, grin twisted Shego's lips as she finished.

Kim returned an indignant look. "That's right, blame the teenager! I mean, all I try and do is help, and this is what I get!" She spotted Ron grinning, and wondered if she'd gone a bit over the top. She was sufficiently distracted for Shego to slip her a sharp rap on the back of her head. "Don't talk back to your elders, young lady!" The look that came onto Kim's face made Shego shift uneasily.

"Would anyone mind holding our daughters, while we 'discuss' this?" Kim asked dangerously.

"Oh, don't be such a wuss, Princess! After all, it didn't hurt, did it? Temporal Grace, and all that?" Kim gave Shego a one-eyed squint, then suddenly reached up to feel her head. "Actually, it did! What does that mean?"

"It means time is passing normally outside wherever we're being held, Kim." Charley replied. "And I would really like to know why!"

Then Rufus' ears perked up, and the rest soon heard the reason. A faint, discordant, and familiar noise growing in volume. And the vague outline of the Doctor's TARDIS faded into view.

Shego looked at Charley, one eyebrow cocked. "You asked..."

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Abby Hogan and Graham Shields led a group of a dozen GJ Tactical agents toward the elevator down to the hangar. Cutting through the trees in which Shego had landed her plane,(It had subsequently been moved inside the hangar, after several oaths were sworn regarding it being allowed out again!) they emerged into the open again just as the incoming Air Force transport finished it's shift from horizontal to vertical flight.

Abby studied it critically. "Finally satisfied with the Osprey, and they already have it's replacement in service!"

Shields snorted in amusement. "HA! It may be in service, and safe enough for the Secretary to ride in, but it's still far short of it's performance requirements, trust me!" He studied Abby's face a moment, then leaned close enough to keep his question for her ears only. "Something wrong?"

Abby responded with a sardonic grin. "Matter of opinion! Betts knows about our little affair, how does that compute?" As Shields' mouth dropped open in shock, Abby continued, "Just waiting for her to hit me with 'cougar' jokes, heh!"

"What! We're only six years apart in age! And, it's not like we were planning on making it a long-term thing, right?"

"Right! Now, head's up, time to see who's on that plane!" She made a signal, and the other agents spread out, as others emerged from the emergency access adjacent to the hangar elevator, and began to form a cordon in conjunction with Abby's group. She took a deep breath, and was about to continue her conversation with Shields, when her wrist comm went off. "Hogan here, what's up?" Who the reply came from surprised her considerably.

"Miss Hogan?" Thundagirl's voice came over the comm, "There's something you really need to know about that aircraft!"

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"What the devil is going on here?! What do you mean, they're refusing to let us into the hangar?" Mandley bellowed into the intercom. The Secretary scowled as he heard the words. After listening for a moment, Mandley suddenly moved to one of the view ports and looked out. The secretary did as well, and his scowl deepened as he beheld the cordon of GJ agents around them. The sounds of the engines winding down ceased, and he heard a hubbub of voices coming from the main compartment.

Mandley hung the handset up, and looked at the Secretary. "They're refusing all access to the facility, and say the agents outside will explain every..." A muffled rumble was suddenly audible within the ship. "What was that?" The intercom buzzed, and Mandley answered. After a moment, he cast his eyes upwards towards the cabin roof, then looked at the Secretary again. "Well, the good news is, they're not hiding Thundagirl from us! The bad news is, she's about ten feet above us, blocking us from taking off!"

A brief look of shock crossed the Secretary's features, then a determined look replaced it. "I think it's about time we got to the bottom of this!" There was no direct access from their small cabin to the outside, save for an emergency escape hatch. There was a ramp at the aircraft's rear, and a door on either side of the flight compartment. The Secretary started towards the door into the cockpit, obviously intending to use one of the latter egresses.

Mandley held up a hand to stop him. "Perhaps I should go out, Mister Secretary, we don't know what's going on here after all!"

The Secretary shook his head. "If there is something seriously wrong, my staying in here is relatively pointless anyway!" He passed Mandley and went through into the cockpit. The Colonel stopped to grab his hat and settle it on his head, before following him. In the cockpit, he found the flight crew strapping on sidearms, and looking to him for a cue. He couldn't decide what to say, so he gave a brief nod to them, and exited the aircraft.

"Mister Secretary, my name is Graham Shields, Supervising Special Agent in charge of Internal Affairs for this facility, and currently senior officer present. This is Abigail Hogan, Doctor Director's aide. Doctor Director herself is not currently present, but we expect her shortly."

The Secretary nodded curtly, and gestured at the tactical agents. "And what is all this in aide of, may I ask?"

"First, Mister Secretary, may I ask, is there a General Dray on this aircraft?"

The Secretary's eyes narrowed, and he nodded slightly, more to himself then the others. "I see! In answer to your question, no, he's not aboard this aircraft. In fact, he is currently off-duty, and will remain so until certain inquiries are resolved. Is he the reason you refused us access to your base? We are here in regard to that ship," he pointed up at T-Girl, "That I believe should have been turned over to the Air Force in the first place!"

"And does your presence aboard this ship excuse it's violation of the secure approach protocols for this base?" Abby asked. The protocols in question required any official flights to make a feigned approach to a US military installation to the north, where Doctor Director had landed, and proceed from there to the GJ base at low altitude, screened by the hills surrounding the base.

"I'm not interested in your protocols, Miss Hogan!" the Secretary replied, "And they're obviously pretty pointless, since your enemies seem to know exactly where to find you!" He added, with a smug look.

"For the record, Mister Secretary, those are the Department of Defense's protocols, not ours." Shields responded, and the smug look vanished. "They'd like to keep the fact that an international agency is using one of their old facilities,which they still officially maintain on their budget off the record. I know you've only recently taken your post, but I thought Colonel Mandley might have mentioned it?"

The Secretary glanced at Mandley, a chastened look now on his face. "Actually, I believe he tried to do so, earlier, but I wasn't interested!"

"If I may interrupt? What if I didn't want to be 'turned over' to the Air Force, in the first place?" Thundagirl asked in a booming voice.

The Secretary was startled, despite his briefing from Mandley. But Shields cut in, directing the conversation to a more pressing topic. "And did you believe that your mission would require you to bring a nuclear device, disguised as a suitcase, into our facility?" Both the Secretary and Mandley registered total shock at the question.

"WHAT!"

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Betty Director was too good at self control to fidget nervously as the GJ helicopter she was riding in flew low through the hills, still fifteen minutes from the base. But she really, really, wanted to fidget! Then, a form of salvation came, as her cell phone sounded. Checking the number, she frowned, and answered the call. "Anne? What's wrong?" Anne Possible quickly gave Betty a abbreviated description on the events at the Possible home. "We were obviously very lucky, but I need to ask, is my family in further danger?"

"Anne, I wish I knew! I finally know the identity of the man behind all this, and I'm afraid he is an unstable individual who's actions are completely unpredictable! Do you want to move into our Middleton facility? It's not much, but might be safer for you."

There was a long pause, before Anne replied, "No, I don't think so. We're discussing matters with the Loads, at the moment, and think we can protect ourselves, unless he simply tries to bomb us out! Do you think that's possible?"

"Anything is possible with this man, trust me! But, the Department of Defense has activated a special project which might make tracking the bomber possible, though for the moment, it only covers the Midwest. So, you _should _be safe, but I'm sending some agents over to your house, and the Loads', no matter what you decide." Betty stated decisively.

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In twenty-two years patrolling the streets of Go City, Sergeant George Verducci had seen many weird things. He had crossed paths three times with one or more members of the city's own collection of freaks, Aviarius once, BarberRosa once, and Awesome Powers 'teamed' with Avarius for the most memorable incident. Powers was frequently mocked as deserving the name Bluffmaster, if that wouldn't have been such a spoiler.

The odd plots and schemes these villains came up with made it a bad idea to dismiss any weird occurrence as harmless, no matter what. So, he immediately assumed one or more of those weirdos had to be responsible for the sudden rain of colored 'eggs' that fell all over the Gold Bluff district of the city. Thick, low cloud cover prevented anyone on the ground from seeing what dropped them, though there seemed to be at least three sources, dropping them in three parallel lines from the river towards the city's financial district.

The eggs themselves seemed to be made of something solid, a hard rubber or plastic, and were heavy enough to cause serious damage to automobiles and any horizontal surface they struck. Most of them appeared to be about three feet long, and just over a foot wide at their thickest point. They were each a single solid color, and completely opaque.

"It's a miracle no one was hit by any of these things!" Verducci didn't look to see who had spoken, it was after all the fifth time he'd heard those words, or some variant of them, since the rain of eggs had stopped. He watched a pair of City Works employees picking one of the eggs up, and tossing it into the back of a pick-up truck. Verducci hadn't liked them being handled without a more thorough examination first, but his Captain had shown up long enough to order his officers to let the clean-up proceed, before the city's rush hour began. Of course, the Captain was good friends with Mayor Lewis, as were most of the senior officers in the GCPD.

"Just as long as the poor bankers don't have to be delayed in their weary ride home!" Verducci muttered under his breath. He noted that someone's BMW had taken a direct hit on the roof, and was certainly headed for major body work. A city cab had also had it's roof stove in, over the fortunately empty back seat. An awning sheltering outdoor diners at one of the trendiest restaurants in town had collapsed after two hits, and someone was shouting at the manager, as if it was his fault, threatening to sue.

Verducci stepped over to the pick-up, looking at the two blue and one red egg sitting in the bed of the truck. They didn't show any sign of damage at all. "How much they weigh?" He asked one of the workers.

"About sixty pounds, no less then that, anyway! Must be pretty dense stuff, Sarge!" Verducci nodded, then switched his attention to some people helping a distraught young woman into the backseat of a cab. Her scream at the sight of her smashed VW had almost made Verducci draw his gun before he'd seen the cause of the disturbance. The people helping her now were apparently her co-workers. Another GCPD uniformed officer was scribbling in his notebook, apparently having managed to extract some information from them for the accident report.

"Hey, Sarge!" He looked up to see another officer emerging from an alley across the street, waving to gain his attention. "Got one back in here that's at least four times the size of these little ones!" Verducci started across the street, as did a TV news crew covering the weirdness.

Behind him in the truck bed, the three eggs lay unattended, as the two workers decided to grab a cup of coffee from a nearby shop. Inside the eggs, a metal box about six by four by four inches in size began to heat up. A sonic pulse indiscernible to human hearing radiated from it, and as the pulse passed through the surrounding material, it began to change. It softened, and began to lose it's opaqueness. Several cables began to unspool from the box, pushing through the material. When they reached the surface of the egg, and pushed through, the material encased them, and extended with them, beginning to form vestigial limbs.

Two Fiber-optic lines extended outwards as well, causing a lump to form on the surface of the egg, and extend outwards on a narrowing 'neck', the lines taking up the role of eyes in the newly forming head. It took roughly three minutes for the transformation to complete, and the newly formed creatures rose to their feet, heads sweeping about as their programming analyzed the situation.

Verducci was nearly across the street when he realized the officer he was approaching was looking behind Verducci, as were many people gathered on that side of the street. Verducci turned around, hand drifting to the grip of his sidearm as he did so. But what he saw sent all rational thought in his head spinning.

"Okay, that's a new one!" People were moving rapidly away from the pick-up, but not taking their eyes off of it. Verducci drew his pistol, but kept it muzzle-down for the moment. Then the inevitable observation was made aloud, but he didn't look for the source. "They look just like those raptor things from the movie!" "_Yeah, if you made a raptor out of blue or red Jello! Well, something a little more substantial, but that's what they look like!" _Verducci though. He didn't reach for his radio. Someone else would surely call it in, and _he_ definitely didn't want to try describing the situation to dispatch.

Shouts from his left caused him to take his eyes off the three briefly, to see a green one emerging from a cross street fifty feet away. Then he heard a loud curse from behind him. He took a quick look, and saw the officer who'd called him, looking back down the alley, and backing away from it. He was also looking upwards, and Verducci could make out a large shadow moving on the alley wall.

But before he could see the source of the shadow, a warning shout caused him to spin around again, to find the three raptors jumping from the truck, each focused on a target. One of the blue ones was coming straight for him. He brought up his gun and rapid-fired three rounds into it, before it knocked him flat, unaffected by the bullets.

He just had time to notice that the thing's teeth weren't colored, but looked like they were made from clear ice, before it closed his jaws around his throat.

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When the Doctor emerged from the TARDIS, Shego's jaw dropped. This wasn't the Doctor she was familiar with, nor for that matter most of the others present, but it most definitely was the man who'd offered her an umbrella one rainy night in Go City. Her mouth closed as her face settled into a suspicious frown. "And what do _you_ have to do with this?" She asked the Time Lord waspishly.

The Doctor raised both hands in a placating manner. "I'm merely here to provide a bit of enlightenment." His next words were cut off by the voice of the Ar'Ithane leader.

"Doctor! How were you able to enter this space? It was sealed against any intrusion!"

"A good magician never gives away his secrets." The Doctor replied, beaming. "Now, just why are you holding these people here?"

"There's a small matter of whether their status increases the danger to the human race, Doctor. We are interested of course, since members of our race are partially responsible for the current crisis."

"Only marginally." The Doctor replied airily, "These people being a danger, I mean. And that can be dealt with...in fact, many things can be dealt with, with the help of some friends of mine. Yes! That's a good idea!" He turned to the others, beaming benignly. "Fancy a little trip?"

It would be an understatement to say there was a touch of apprehension in most of the faces staring at him.

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Arthur Mandley emerged from the Air Force transport, a chastened look on his face. He saw the questioning scowl on the Secretary's face, and grimaced. The AFSPs had disembarked, and were forming a joint cordon around the ship with the GJ Agents. The flight crew stood off to one side as well. Mandley headed for the Secretary, who still stood with Shields and Abby Hogan.

"The device was programmed to arm itself at these GPS coordinates, and detonate as soon as it reached a depth of thirty meters, or in fifteen minutes, whichever came first. It didn't do either, and wouldn't have because of a fail-safe feature. When the bomb was programmed, the authorization code used was valid. But when the device reached it's arming point, it sought to verify it's instructions. This time, it was told the code was no longer valid, so it deactivated itself."

"And who's code was it, Colonel?" The Secretary inquired, with a knowing look on his face.

Mandley took a deep breath and exhaled before replying. "General Dray's."

The Captain commanding the AFSPs walked up, accompanied by a female Airman with a satellite-capable laptop. "Sir, General Dray's authorization codes were canceled nineteen minutes ago, by order of the Chief of Staff, and the Judge Advocate General has officially issued an order to arrest him on sight using any necessary force required." Mandley's hands closed into fists as he heard that.

The sound of an approaching helicopter made them all look up, to see the executive model carrying Betty Director sweeping in to land. Since the Air Force ship took up all of the hanger elevator, the pilot set down on the west side of the lift. Betty was out almost before the wheels touched down, heading directly towards the little group. The look on her face made even the Secretary nervous, now that his little mission had turned into a train wreck. She walked straight up to the Secretary. "Mister Secretary, Colonel Mandley, I'd like to speak to you both in private, if I may?" Polite as her tone was, the look in her eye made it extremely doubtful either would decline. She gestured towards Thundagirl, now landed on the north side of the elevator. She also signaled to Abby to accompany them. "T-Girl, May we use you for a little privacy?"

"Of course, Doctor Director!" She lowered her ramp, allowing the four people inside, then closed it. The AFSP commander looked a bit nervous at this, and was getting progressively more so when the ramp dropped again, twenty minutes later. Betty and Abby emerged first, followed by a somewhat pale Secretary, and a surprisingly composed Mandley. The Colonel looked at the Captain. "We're leaving, Captain, get everyone back aboard the ship!"

As the Captain snapped to attention and saluted in response, Betty Director's wrist comm beeped. She activated it to hear Agent Simpson, practically babbling.

"Ma'am! We've just been informed of two attacks! Global Justice Europe's main facility is under attack by WWEE, and this time, they're the real thing! And Go City is being attacked by...well, dinosaurs, made of some kind of plastic or similar substance! They've got heavy civilian casualties, and the Police department's weapons are pretty much useless, according to reports!"

"Plastic dinosaurs? Simpson, get the files on the Doctors Puppetta, the ones who made the first syntho-drones! After their split, there was word that one of them was doing some experiments with larger synthetic creations! There's nothing we can do about GJ Europe...unless!" She turned back towards Thundagirl**. **"T-Girl, would you be willing..." She broke off abruptly. An odd noise had come from the trees separating them from the base's main entrance.

"Doctor Director, something just materialized in there!" T-Girl informed her, "It's just...oh, my! It's like a TARDIS, but it's not one! Anyway, a bunch of humanoid creatures are pouring out, count sixty and rising, there's also some sort of energy field radiating out from it!"

Betty Director looked around at her own people and the Air Force troops. "Listen! Whatever is coming out of those trees is to be considered hostile! Fire at will!" Many present needed no urging, preparing their weapons with grim determination. Then they caught sight of their enemies.

They were indeed humanoid, standing about a meter tall, and appeared to be clad in crimson armor, topped by pointed helms. They carried some kind of gun at port arms as they streamed out of the trees in a column of twos, moving at a trot. Several of the watching humans broke their sight picture to look in confusion at the fast moving column, which abruptly split in two, breaking off at right angles to their line of march, extending in both directions to form a line facing the humans.

A GJ Agent let fly with a stun bolt, scoring a direct hit on one, but it didn't even break it's stride. Several AFSPs began fiddling with their weapons, looks of consternation on their faces. Betty slipped an explosive grenade the size of a D Cell battery out of a concealed pocket in her tunic, as she saw one of her men pitch a sonic stun grenade at the line lengthening to their left. Betty saw the telltale signature of it's detonation, but it had no more effect then the stun shot.

"Doctor Director, the energy field is neutralizing some component of the propellant in your rifle bullets! Trying to single out the target chemical!" T-Girl announced.

"Hell!" Betty muttered, arming her grenade and pitching it towards the center of the still lengthening line to her right. The blast knocked a dozen of her targets off their feet, but the remainder ignored this, except to adjust their intervals, as the lines finished extending, and ended with fifty or more of the little humanoids lined up facing them, at a range of sixty feet. "Fall Back!" Betty shouted, "Use any explosives to cover..." She broke off as four teams of three humanoids emerged from the trees, each team carrying a large tripod mounted weapon, which they set up quickly. Betty guessed their target. "Get clear of the transport!"

"Nitrocellulose!" T-Girl broadcast, "That's what's being modified!" Just then, the hostile foot soldiers leveled their weapons, and the four large ones fired, sending two balls of flickering blue light at the Air Force transport, and two at Thundagirl**. **Skirting wide around the transport, Betty found she hadn't skirted widely enough, as the ship exploded, knocking her and all near her to the ground.

"OW!" Thundagirl bellowed. "That actually hurt!" Then she abruptly vanished.

Betty tried to pick herself up and failed, flopping back down to the ground, which turned out to be fortunate, as a volley of smaller blue bolts suddenly scythed over her head. She saw an AFSP, who had gotten partway to his feet, take a hit. Blue energy washed all over his body and vanished, leaving his flesh a pale shade of blue. And Betty saw all his flesh before he fell to the ground, all he was wearing or carrying having vanished. His hand fell close to her own, and she hastily grabbed it, and felt for a pulse, finding none.

Others fell as well, in the same manner, one she swore was barely grazed by a bolt. A second volley was fired, with more casualties. The hostile weapons seemed to have a recycle time, with at least seven seconds between shots. As a third volley swept over her, she leaped to her feet, then dodged past a burning piece of the destroyed transport, and put the bulk of the wreckage between herself and the enemy. She then headed straight for the emergency access stair down to the hangar. She saw Mandley limping in front of her, ushering the Secretary ahead of him.

Stopping at the top of the stairs, she crouched and looked back. She saw Abby and several others approaching from her left, having gone around the tail of the burning aircraft. More were coming in from the right. Her direct view of their attackers was blocked by the burning wreckage, but she suspected they were now sweeping forwards to finish any survivors. She saw Abby stop to physically drag the pilot of Betty's chopper out of his cockpit. Why he had remained inside was a question, without the engines even being spooled up, he had no chance of taking off and escaping. "_Well, if he panicked, I need a new personal pilot!"_ Betty thought, sourly.

She started to use her comm to call the Operations Room, but Abby rushed over first. "Get the hell down that hole, Betts! There's nothing you can do up here that someone else can't do just as well! We need you as secure as can be, and in command!" A stubborn glint appeared in Betty's eye, but she shook her head violently, and nodded. "You're right! I'm going, but get yourself down there, too, Miss Hogan! And make sure...where's Graham?"

Abby's answer was short, face tight, "First volley, didn't duck far enough! Now, get down there, boss, before someone carries you down!" Betty nodded, and went quickly down the stairs herself, glancing back once to make sure Abby was following her.

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Thundagirl rumbled back into existence, hundreds of miles from the GJ Base.

"Okay, Wade, I jumped to those coordinates, what kind of help am I going to find out here, to help Doctor Director?" She had been holding a conversation with the boy genius throughout the incident at GJHQ, Wade having contacted her about losing all signals from the Kimmunicators he'd given Kim, Charley, Ron, and the girls. That had occurred just as T-Girl informed Abby Hogan about the nuke on the Air Force plane, including the fact it had shut itself off.

"Trust me, T-Girl! You'll find just who we need there! It's a simple matter of chemistry."

"Well, I hope..." And her transmission abruptly ended.

"T-Girl? Thundagirl? What happened, where are you? Oh, No! Not her, too!!"

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"Got her!" The Doctor crowed, hands dancing over the TARDIS controls. All those who had previously been the guests of the Ar'Ithane save Doctor Director were crowded into the control room, which was unfamiliar to several, being smaller, cleaner, and, well, whiter then the one they were familiar with. A shimmering sphere of light, representing Thundagirl's 'consciousness', came into being before them.

"Why do you need Thundagirl at all, Doctor?" Ron asked, keeping one eye on Rufus, who was in turn studying the underside of the control console speculatively.

"What! What's going on here!" Came the familiar voice of the sentient ship, emanating from the sphere. Roy flew close, as if to examine it. "Got something to say, shorty?" T-Girl snarled. Roy tittered, then flew away again.

"Because we need her to be examined by The People." Everyone looked at him curiously, having actually sensed his capitalization of the last two words. "But first, we have another stop to make, one some of you won't care for. And things might get a bit tricky..."

That caused several wary looks to appear. In response, he gave them a reassuring smile. "Merely a matter of timing! And, if I may say so myself, timing is something I'm rather good at!" The time rotor began to slow down. "Ah, we've arrived! Now be careful, we're on a very small piece of dry land, so you'll have to watch your step! And we need to take some precautions before venturing out." He then left the control room, returning several minutes later and handing Kim, Shego, and Charley what turned out to be three anoraks. "Please put these on, and wear the hoods up, with as little of your faces visible as possible, we can't afford anyone seeing you here!"

The three did as he asked, but not without doubting expressions. When they were done, Shego looked at the other two. "Any resemblance to a 'Boy band' on the run should not be brought up!" She quipped.

When the Doctor opened the doors, Ron and JJ were first to exit, and promptly stopped dead in their tracks. "Hey! What's the hold-up?" Belle chastised them, which got them moving. Only to have the twins both freeze in an identical manner as soon as they stepped outside. Eventually this 'shuttle' system resulted in everyone getting outside, with Kim and Shego somehow exiting last. The latter looked around, eyes widening in shock. "That's Go City! But what happened to it? When and where are we, Doctor?" Then her gaze was drawn to something much closer, and her jaw dropped as a horrified expression crossed her face.

They were, as the Doctor had warned, perched precariously on a clump of rocks in a large bay, with a large city, obviously in ruins, lining the shore to their east. But much closer was an island, from the center of which rose a towering pillar of blue-white fire, roiling inside some form of invisible containment. It appeared to be early afternoon, with a cloudless sky above. "Ron, are you okay?" Charley asked the boy worriedly.

Ron tore his gaze away from the pillar, shaking his head violently. "I--I never thought that that could be real!" He exclaimed.

"This is the future of that other world." Kim stated quietly. She looked at the Doctor. "Why have you brought us here?"

"As I said, enlightenment!" the Time Lord gestured across at the shore of the neighboring island. Kim looked, and spotted some kind of statue. She carefully worked her way farther out on the rocks, and peered at it. Then her eyes widened.

"Is that---is that me?" She asked aloud to no one in particular.

"Yeah, that's you standing in the center." Ron answered her, drawing everyone's attention, with the Doctor's eyes narrowing. "That's Charley standing to one side, and Shego kneeling next to you."

"Kneeling?!" Shego asked incredulously, "Why the hell am _I_ kneeling?"

"Because you are the 'Redeemed One'." the Doctor replied, "The evil one turned to good by Kim's shining example." He ignored Shego's aghast look and stepped carefully over to Ron, peering into his eyes. "I see you retain some memories of your visit here. You saw a similar statue, I believe."

"They worship us..." Charley mused thoughtfully, "Because we sacrificed our lives to save them?" Thoughtful looks came over both Kim and Shego's faces. Then Kim looked at the Doctor and Ron, a frown on her face. "But how could Ron have visited here?"

"The Time Monkey." They both replied at once.

"What?" Belle exclaimed, "I thought Ron made that up?"

"Funny thing is, so did I!" Ron replied.

"There's no time to tell the whole story here." The Doctor told them, "We can't afford to be seen by anyone. Suffice it to say that Ron was here previously, and so was the Valeyard, though not quite at the same time. The Valeyard brought the Reverend Willward along to see this." He looked at Kim with concern, the girl was starting to sway unsteadily. He glanced up at the pillar, then back at the girl, considering.

"A world where Kimberly was worshiped instead of God?" Drakken asked.

"Not exactly." The Doctor replied, "More as an emissary of God. A new saviour, in their view. What happened here in this world after that terrible day caused many peopel to adapt to new ideas as far as 'Faith' was concerned."

Drakken nodded. "Still, that could go a long way toward explaining Willward's behavior towards her." He looked towards Shego as he spoke, and suddenly frowned. "Shego, are you well?" Then he noticed that both Kim and Charley were unsteady, as well. "Doctor, I think their proximity to that phenomenom is having a deletrious effect on them."

"Yes, I should have anticipated the possibility..." The Doctor trailed off, eyes widening in alarm as Shego suddenly pitched into the bay. Kim took an unsteady step towards her, then collapsed, only just being caught by Belle. JJ dove into the water, along with Beth, to rescue Shego. And Ron found his arms suddenly full of Charley, who seemed to be semi-conscious.

"Everyone back in the TARDIS!" The Doctor cried, even as he sprang forward to help pull Shego from the water.

Soon all of them were inside, and the TARDIS began it's dematerialization, the sounds echoing across the waters, disturbing the concentration of a crowd of people on the shore, kneeling in supplication around a larger tableau of the three heroines.

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	29. Deteriorating Sitch

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

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"Well, when I made my little offer, I didn't expect to be taken up on it quite so quickly, Brigadier!" The Rani commented, studying a hastily installed bank of monitors outside her cell. Five faces stared back at her from different screens, though two were cloaked in shadows, and she had a hard time not expressing her derision at such melodramatic nonsense.

"Not exactly my choice to rush into this arrangement either, but Geneva has decided that the actions of your erstwhile colleague have made him our main priority." MacLaren occupied the central screen, and didn't show the slightest indication of missing sleep, or any anxiety whatsoever. The Rani studied his colleagues as she reviewed what she meant to tell them in her head.

The head of UNIT-NA, an Army Major General, balding and chewing on some kind of gum; the chief of the Joint Intelligence Panel for the Conduct of Operations Relating to Extra-Terrestrials, a singularly ugly individual named Quinton Grade; and the two shadowed faces, one clearly female, all showed varying amounts of impatience as they awaited the Rani's report. Deciding not to build up any ill-will by delaying things, she plunged in.

"Firstly, these 'dinosaurs'. Even from what little I've seen in the few minutes I was allowed to study the live video from America, I can tell you they are entirely a human creation, and there is no clear indication the Valeyard's involved with them, other than suspicion. Which I share, for the record. If you wish to find the creators of the dinosaurs, I suggest you check out Doctor Enrico Puppetta. I had a brief professional collaboration with him and his brother Armando, and he was working on something of this sort immediately after their break-up."

"Next, these travel capsules of his. We may as well call them SIDRATs, a name used by another Time Lord who created some lash-up imitations of the TARDIS. But, he was a far better scientist then the Valeyard is, I'd jump naked into the vortex before I'd risk my life in one of his creations!"

Grade spoke up. His voice didn't match his appearance, being quite high-pitched. "A missile fired into the one in Middleton caused it's destruction, according to initial reports."

"Ha! A firecracker may have done the same thing! In any event, toss one of your grenades in one, if the opportunity rises, it should be more then enough to destabilize it. But stand well back, as you can see from the destruction of the Middleton SIDRAT, it takes a bit of it's surroundings with it when it goes. Now, as to the means by which these 'eggs' were delivered? On that subject I have no idea."

UNIT-NA spoke up. "We have already discovered the answer to that, he used some vehicles designed in another project he undertook for the USAF. Remote control powered gliders, which used engines to reach altitude before jettisoning them and gliding over their targets, releasing their payloads, which for the record would have been supplies for covert ops troops behind enemy lines, they were not meant to deliver ordinance. One use only, they were meant to get as far away from the drop site as possible and crash. However, the the three we found did not have the lift capacity to deliver all of the eggs we know to have activated in Go City." He let the others consider the implications.

Steadfast MacLaren broke the silence. "Some of them were already there, you're saying? Those dropped from the sky were just meant to make us think, at least initially, that that was the only method of their arrival?" Many heads nodded in agreement with that conclusion. "Interesting. Obviously, a thorough search will have to be made for any left unactivated."

Quentin Grade switched topics, addressing the Rani, "You believe he may be based in this 'shelter' carried in the TARDIS you arrived in?" When the Rani nodded, he went on, "And this has a chameleon circuit, disguising it? What's it's minimum size, and internal capacity?"

"Well, it's normal purpose is to use as an observation post, or perhaps I should call it a 'blind'. It has enough internal space to comfortably accommodate twenty people, giving each one private quarters, and still leaving a good deal of workspace and recreational space. Externally, it's minimum area is roughly one hundred square feet, usually a ten by ten square. That's also the width of the entry doors, by the way, ten feet. One might search for new buildings of roughly that size and larger...except I have no idea how far back he may have set it up! Still, it would be something that wouldn't attract attention to itself. And probably isolated enough for day and night access without being seen. Now, he couldn't base his bomber there, obviously!"

"Why all these different attacks, all these different methods? Sometimes he doesn't seem to be properly coordinating his strikes, and piling them one after another like he does makes no sense!" The other blank face asked, voice also distorted.

"Because he's schizophrenic, in the worst way possible! He can't remember all the things he does in his other incarnations, depending on their precedence! And I strongly suspect he's shifting through them more and more often as time destabilizes faster and faster!" Now the Rani began to sound more then a bit alarmed. "He initiates an attack, then changes, for instance. If he changes to one of his later incarnations, he'll remember what he just did. But, if he changes to an earlier incarnation, he won't remember! He probably had a system to overcome this problem, perhaps something as simple as leaving notes for himself, but I suspect the increasing frequency of his shifts may have negated whatever that system was."

"Now, you're claiming to be having 'visions' of this alternate time line, and that others have been having them, as well?" Grade inquired, "Is there any chance that 'normal' people will start having them?"

The Rani frowned, and considered the matter for a moment, then shook her head. "I personally consider it highly unlikely. Only people who have actually traveled in time should be experiencing visions, and I might narrow that down to only those who had close contact with the Valeyard during this period of that time line. Kim Possible and her friends qualify, from what little I have heard."

UNIT-NA spoke up next. "You say his plan to eradicate humanity has been foiled, is there any overall purpose to his current attacks, do you think?"

"On that, I can give no certain answer. I believe he may have tried to confuse your attempts to discover his true identity, and his current identity as well, by preoccupying the agencies involved with other matters. He missed an opportunity to strike while his foes were divided, despite recognizing that their assembling to pool their knowledge represented a great threat to him. His use of remote monitors, identical to Miss Cob's, to try and keep track of his enemies was an excellent stratagem, but he failed to make the most of it, in my opinion. Though that may have been due to his divided personality, it could be that only his most recent incarnation is able to use those remotes."

"I see." The male shadow replied, "Can you answer this? Have you any idea where Team Possible is right now?"

"I believe the Ar'Ithane are detaining them, in the belief that they might exacerbate the situation, or the scale of the impending disaster. The Valeyard is solely responsible for the destabilization of time, and the situation is deteriorating, I can feel it! And for once, to show you how desperate I feel, I'd welcome the sight of the Doctor, arriving to save the day!"

For another ten minutes the Rani fielded more questions, and gave opinions about things seen on the live video from Go City, as well as some brief images from Global Justice's North American base. The small armored creatures made her frown, but she truthfully didn't recognize them, and said as much. "The Valeyard has had the TARDIS far more then I have since we arrived on Earth together. And he was absent several times for long periods when he was Manof Yasler, so I assume he traveled about, and collected what he needed, or thought he needed. And he never shared his plans with me, I assure you."

Eventually the teleconference broke up. In his office, Steadfast MacLaren was still connected to his American counterpart. "Well, I for one don't think she lied about anything. Which means we dearly need to locate the Valeyard as quickly as possible!"

"Agreed, of course! By the way, I've held off sending any of my troopers to assist in Go City, rather save them for when we find the Valeyard's lair, I doubt that'll be an easy nut to crack."

"You're almost certainly correct in that assumption! What did you think of including JIPCORET in this meeting?" MacLaren kept his voice carefully neutral.

"I'd rather not have them around at all! But, when they do manage to hit paydirt, we can't deny they hit it big! Just wish they hit it more often! They have so few field resources, I guess it's natural for them to focus on one narrow line of inquiry at a time, though that also reflects Grade's personality. But, they've wasted so much time and effort on false trails, because they never let go until they've worried one to death! Anyway, some members of Congress like them, so they'll be around a while. What about our two 'mystery' guests?" The General moved his head out of frame, apparently to spit his gum out.

"A mystery to me as well, though I have a good idea who the woman was! As for the man, it was arranged through Geneva, they must know who it is, that has to be good enough for me!"

00000000000

Wade Load pushed himself away from his computer in frustration. "That was a waste of time! They don't know where Kim and Ron are, either! Unless the Rani's right, and those aliens have them!" His eyes shifted to screens showing images coming in from Go City. "No help from Global Justice, not when they're under attack themselves! And without T-Girl, no chance to get the help I thought of there to help Doctor Director, either!" Then an odd look came over his face. "Or is there?" He began rapidly typing on two keyboards at once, a skill he possessed that Ron hadn't made up for his stories.

00000000000

Slim Possible leaned back against the corral fence, elbows braced on the top, as he watched his guests' activities with a smile on his face. There were nearly one hundred and fifty of them, men and women, all dressed in authentic looking clothes, portraying a wide selection of Old West roles. He nodded at one lady friend, who had convinced her group to try their hand at dressing up as saloon girls. The Hollywood kind, with little resemblance to what the real thing had dressed like.

Slim took an appreciative sniff of the air, enjoying the mix of aromas. His stomach was full, but he found himself still strongly tempted by the smell of the home barbecued beef. Then he heard a soft beeping noise, and quickly moved to shut it off before it spoiled anyone else's mood. He strode away from the crowd, stepping behind the barn, before activating the small video phone he carried. "Why, hello, young Mister Load, how's it going with you, young man? And for that matter, my favorite niece?"

"I wish I knew, Mister Possible!" At Slim's frown, Wade hastened to add, "I'm trying to straighten that out now, but there's a more immediate problem I _can_ do something about, with your help!"

Slim continued to frown, but nodded. "Shoot, son!"

Wade swallowed nervously. "Sir, are you currently hosting a certain event, during which you send Joss away?" He flinched as Slim's eyes narrowed.

"I won't ask how you knew that...for now. Yes, she's away, I don't take to the idea of her getting interested in certain things, if you get my drift?" At Wade's nod, he went on. "Now, what does this event have to do with solving your problem?" After Wade had explained the situation at GJHQ, Slim nodded. "Smart thinking, young man! Well, I have the means to help, but it only seats seven, including the pilot, which has to be me. However, I believe I can find six others whose skill will make up for the lack of numbers. And two of them are strolling towards me right now. I'll get things going here, you tell Betty Director a posse's on the way, and I'm leading it!"

00000000000

Mayor Hubert Dew Lewis paced the floor like he campaigned, head back, keeping his neck covered; and with a light tread the first pace or two after shifting direction. With his senior staff, he currently occupied a room adjacent to his 'Command Post', from which he had absented himself only for as long as it took the press to gather in a nearby waiting room. Once there was an impressive number of them, they would be allowed into the CP, and privileged to watch HooDoo Lewis lead his troops in the defense of Go City.

Ron Stoppable had portrayed the Mayor of Go City as a nerdy, bucktoothed man with a speech impediment. But then again, Ron didn't like HooDoo very much at all. The Mayor in point of fact was tall and quite handsome. And he prided himself on his baritone speaking voice, and perfect diction when making speeches, for audiences of any size. He never acknowledged reading any of Ron's online stories, but in fact he had read and re-read any that included him in them.

And now, his public image besmirched by the Macheles Scandal, he faced another disaster. Which forced him to employ people to deal with it who actually could, whether they were his favorites or not. "Has Inspector Ball taken command downtown, yet?" He asked one aide. The aide shook his head, and HooDoo frowned deeply. "Well, he'd better get there before the Feds take control, is all I can say!"

"Well, Sir, he did have a long way to travel from his current posting, so it's not reason..." the aide trailed off as the Mayor stopped pacing and glared at him. Then the glare shifted to a composed looking young man with spiky red hair. Not that he didn't constantly try and keep his hair slicked down, it just wouldn't cooperate without applying so much oil that it reflected light like a mirror. His name was Mason Spidoc, former orphan, and now assistant to the Mayor's Press Secretary, Alvin Lusion. "Where's Al hiding?" the Mayor growled at Spidoc.

Mason cleared his throat, "Well, Sir, he was at SmartyWorld arranging your visit for tomorrow when this crisis hit. And he can't come back by the most direct route, without passing through the danger zone. Nor could the Police Department spare any helicopters to go get him. I'm sure he's on his way, but he's a very careful driver, after all." A confident smile accompanied the speech, and HooDoo grudgingly nodded.

Then he rounded on Phil Pratt, his Chief of Staff, now also acting as his campaign manager. "National Guard?"

Pratt shook his head. "Only local Guard units not overseas are a transport battalion, they won't have the heavy weapons we need to deploy to stop these things!"

HooDoo's eyes popped wide. "Heavy Weapons! In downtown Go City? Are you crazy? Besides, we've been getting reports already of people killing these things, without 'Heavy Weapons'," the Mayor made actual 'air quotes', "And Team Go hasn't even gotten involved, yet!" Two aides tried to speak at once.

"Actually..."

"Only the small ones, Mister Mayor!" flashing a triumphant grin at his outshouted colleague, he continued, "No one has managed to kill any 'Barnzillas', yet!" His triumphant grin vanished at the angry glare coming from the Mayor.

"'Barnzilla'? Oh, wonderful! Maybe this sicko behind all this thought it was funny, making all those synthetic T-Rexes purple, but I don't intend to help him get any laughs, do you understand?" He looked around at the others. "Understand? I hear anyone else using the term 'Barnzilla', and he's going to be my personal representative downtown, get it?" No answer was expected.

The door to the Command Post opened, and another aide stepped in. "Sir, we just received word, Team Go is deploying!" If he expected a dramatic response, he didn't get it. Everyone in the room looked at the Mayor expectantly. After a moment, the aide withdrew and closed the door.

"Wonderful!" the Mayor muttered. "I'd still like to know just how we lost control of those boys!" No reply was forthcoming to that question, either, since all present knew that HooDoo was fully aware when and how that event had occurred. "Well, let's hope they show as much improvement fighting monsters as they have fighting villains!"

Pratt looked alarmed. "We have to find a way to keep Hego out of this! We can't afford anything happening to him, he's vital to our current campaign strategy!"

HooDoo rolled his eyes, and then glared at Pratt. If there was one thing he hated, it was people exposing his ineffectiveness, in any arena. "Outside of the fact he's probably the only effective weapon we have against the T-Rexes, how do you propose he be kept out?"

"Uh, um, tell him we need him in strategic reserve?" As HooDoo winced, Pratt shrugged, "I don't know how, I'm just saying, we need him healthy!"

"Well, we'll just have to hope he keeps his glow up, he's damn near invulnerable like that!"

00000000000

The first bit of good luck the people of Go City had received was an early exposure of the fake dinosaurs' weaknesses. This had occurred on a side street off Key Street, where the husband and wife owners of a martial arts _dojo_ had engaged two raptors.

Mister Adachi had used his skill at _Kendo _to decapitate a green raptor with his _katana_, severing both fiber-optic lines in the process. Though the creature had resumed it's original shape on a reduced scale, it was now blind, and had no other senses provided to it. It had no defense as Adachi followed up by hacking it apart.

His wife wielded a _naginata_, a six foot shaft mounting a three foot blade. She spotted a yellow raptor some twenty yards away, and scrutinized it for a moment before it spotted her in turn, and began to charge. Rather then set up for a slashing attack, Kei Adachi lowered her blade to the ground, edge resting on the sidewalk, extended towards the charging monster.

She kept her focus solely on the creature as it closed rapidly. At the last moment, she suddenly snapped the blade up and braced herself, as the creature impaled itself recklessly. The blade penetrated deeply, as Kei struggled to hold her ground. And abruptly, the creature turned to liquid, which splashed around her ankles and feet. Impaled on the tip of her blade was the metal box from inside the creature, cables and fiber-optic lines dangling from it as it sparked and sputtered.

"My, My, look what I hit! Sheer dumb luck, of course!" She smiled at her husband, who regarded her skeptically. She ignored the doubtful look, and looked at a uniformed police officer who had seen her action, and was stunned. "Officer, I think you should report this, to as many people as you can!"

"And this!" Her husband added, picking the miniature cameras which had served as eyes out of the now almost dissolved remnants of his target's head. Then, after a moment's study of the larger pieces of his kill, he plunged his sword tip into one, impaling it's control box. Again, the 'flesh' of the creature became liquid, and he now saw the remains of the cables that had spread through it, sustaining it's structure. Some of them had sprouted thin lengths of wire, probably to extend into the feet and hands to provide structure.

The officer regained his composure, and began his call, even as he walked over to study exactly what these two people had revealed. Within minutes, not only the police knew of the creatures' weaknesses, but it was reaching the general populace, as well.

00000000000

Shego woke up in what felt like a bed, snug and warm, and not alone. While keeping her eyes shut to give her brain time to come online, she felt small movements close to her, as if some small creature...she cracked one eyelid, and found two bright blue-green eyes looking back at her from a curious face, topped by a mop of dark red hair. "Good Morning, Miss Possible." Shego muttered quietly, as she caught a glimpse of the little girl's mother on the other side of the bed. Kim was still asleep, but disturbed, from the look on her face. As she raised her head for a better look, Shego heard a voice from across the room.

"She seems to have taken it harder then either of us."

Shego looked to see Charley, seated in a large rocking chair with Milly in her lap, halfway through a bottle of something green. "What are you feeding my baby? I mean, I lost my green look, you trying to give it to her?" Shego asked, as she gathered Amy up and slipped carefully out of the bed. The room they were in was large and airy, an open doorway onto what appeared to be a balcony allowing a breeze in, carrying pleasant if unfamiliar scents.

Charley grinned. "Actually, this is supposed to be excellent stuff for human babies, according to the Doctor. Amy's bottle is right there, in that cabinet." She looked down at Milly, who was trying to follow her mother's movements with her eyes, while not breaking her feeding rhythm. "This is neat." She said quietly.

Shego found the other bottle, and Amy took to it without reservation, from all appearances trying to catch up with her sister's consumption. Shego then took a moment to study what she was wearing, a floor length nightdress in hunter green, with paler green lace around the collar. Charley wore a cream colored version of the same outfit, with Navy Blue lace, while Kim's was apparently the latter color, with lace the same color as Shego's gown.

"For a number of reasons, we're confined to this island we're on." Charley informed her.

Frowning, Shego walked to the balcony door and looked out. There was something odd about the perspective, and it took her a moment to realize what it was. Her jaw dropped.

"It's what an Earth scientist or Engineer would call a Dyson Sphere, or at least, it looks like one." Charley explained, "The people who built it are very, very advanced, hence our isolation." She grinned, "Don't forget, we have Doctor Drakken with us, and out there is the Universe's Biggest Candy Store, to him."

Shego took a while to process this, but she finally smiled. "How's he taking it?"

"Actually, surprisingly well. Something about, 'having all the answers would be a nightmare' for him?" Charley looked at Shego inquiringly.

"Yeah, that's Doctor D! He's a lot more complex then practically anybody realizes. Anyway, what's the plan, here?"

"Where's Ron, and the others?"

Shego turned at Kim's voice, seeing her rubbing her eyes and propping herself up on one elbow. "Hey Princess, thought you were going to sleep through another feeding, didn't you?" Shego's joking tone was belied by the serious look in her eyes as she studied the girl, who looked tired and drawn.

Charley responded to Kim's question, "They're all down at the beach, I think. Or exploring in general, there's a few things to see, even on such a small island. How do you feel, Kim?"

"I'll let you know when I've sorted all this out in my head! Why are you two already up?" Kim pushed the covers aside and stood up, eyes locked on Milly now.

"Just managed the trick myself, Kimmie. Don't know how long Charley was out." Shego studied the girl with a critical eye. She seemed stable enough, physically. Charley stopped rocking, and got to her feet, holding Milly out to Kim.

"Oh, I was never completely out, myself!" she smiled apologetically, "No idea why!"

"Lucky You." Kim muttered, with a weak grin, as she took Milly and the bottle from Charley. Then noting the condition of the bottle, she gave Charley a dark look. "Just in time for the burping, eh?" Then she smiled. "That's Okay, I really don't mind a bit."

Shego studied their gowns again. "Nice outfits, kinda conservative though, these people around here like that?"

Charley snickered. "No these are Ron's doing!" At their curious looks, she explained. "The other girls were so busy getting some new ones made for themselves that Ron had to take care of us! Mind you, he did make a small mistake when it came to UV reaction!" Charley stepped out onto the balcony, into the sunlight. Kim and Shego's jaws dropped. The garment appeared to have completely vanished. Charley grinned, shaking her head. "Oddly enough, from my perspective, it still looks normal! A new twist on 'The Emperor's New Clothes', Stoppable style!" They all had a brief laugh. "Mind you, if I thought Ron had done it on purpose..." Charley commented.

They all considered that, then shook their heads. "Nah! He wouldn't have that much nerve!" Shego stated, with a touch of doubt in her voice.

"As to our plans." Charley became serious. "We're going to replace the equipment the Ar-Ithane provided for us. Also, T-Girl is getting a new 'body', since her old one was modified by the Ar'Ithane, and it's integrity was dependent upon the same kind of power source as the other stuff they made for us. The People promise she'll be tougher then ever, and they'll make sure she still has all we need for our operations. The People have also expressed an interest in helping us with other equipment."

"Expressed an interest in helping?" Shego asked, a sarcastic edge in her voice, "Haven't we had enough 'help' from 'advanced' people, already?"

Charley frowned, and replied in an admonishing tone, "Shego, these 'People' are so advanced, the Time Lords signed a Non-aggression Pact with them! Also, this whole place, this whole world, is managed by a supercomputer that goes by the name of 'God', who might just be listening in on us right now, to make sure we don't have any evil intentions towards them!" She looked back and forth between the two shocked visages before her. "They have no intention of interfering, they just want to help us achieve what we want, and they will not impose on us if we don't want them to! On the other hand, we have to be careful what we ask for, because they may be _too _generous, if we let them be!"

Not giving them much chance to process this, Charley forged on. "Now, we begin by getting Kim back in shape, and practicing some teamwork. We have a serious VR set-up here, which we can use for training. But, we'll need an occasional break, so we can use it for entertainment, as well."

"Gee, I thought I was the boss now." Kim stage whispered to Shego. Charley blushed, but Kim grinned, "Sorry, delegating to you for now, Charley, you've been around a bit more than I have, after all!"

"As for our equipment, we'll get each of you a suit of armor like ours, with a few changes, and maybe a weapon Kim can live with. We'll depend on Wade and our other friends back on Earth for our 'everyday' Mission stuff." Charley hesitated, as if reluctant to face the next subject. "My Boys...are going to get new bodies, just having their personalities transferred, is all. That's the only way around their self-termination program. Their capabilities will be slightly altered. When that's done, I want..I want to have Roy, and maybe Ben, become Amy and Milly's companions!"

Kim and Shego were astonished. "Are you sure, Charley?" Kim asked hesitantly, "I mean, they've been your friends for so long!"

Charley nodded. "I'll still have Saul and Fred, after all! My only problem is, I still haven't sorted out what Ben tried to do to the Rani, I don't know if you'd want him as a..."

Shego cut her off. "If it means he'll do anything necessary to protect my little girl, he's fine with me!" She stated, emphatically.

Charley looked Shego in the eye for a moment, then nodded. "Very Well." Then she looked at Kim, chewing her lip, before her next statement. "You and I...can also have something done about our respective problems...concerning having children." Kim was startled, but recovered and nodded.

Shego regarded Kim oddly for a moment, then smiled slightly. Then a question occured to her. "What 'changes' are you talking about, with that armor?"

"Well.." Charley grimaced slightly, "Though we can't remember exactly when we got it, we now think it was from the same scientist that built Thundagirl, since our hosts have identified the technology involved as originating from the same species, the 'Cadres'. But, they _did_ wonder why it was nearly transparent, since it's much more efficient if the anchors for the plates are kept between two layers of the energy dispersing material."

The other two thought about this only a moment before comprehension dawned. "That 'scientist' made it that way on purpose!" Shego declared, "Because he was probably just a pervert!"

Charley shrugged. "My opinion of him is justifiably biased, so I can't say. In any event, the new armor will not be see-through, though once activated, it will be very snug."

Kim grew a lop-sided grin. "Any improvement in the 'coverage' is fine by me!"

"Same here." CHarley agreed. "Well, we'll stay here until we're ready to go back, or we're at each other's throats..." She grinned weakly, "And then our hosts will return us to the earliest possible moment, based on the Ar'Ithane's interference. We may have missed hours, maybe days, though I doubt that. But, some things have already occurred that we cannot undo, please understand that! We have to be very careful not to make things worse, or the whole human race may suffer."

"The Doctor's not taking us back?" Kim asked.

"No. He says he can't but as usual he's keeping his secrets, including why not. I'll admit I don't know this incarnation very well, but Doctor Drakken does, he met him while in college, he says. So did your parents, Kim."

Kim just nodded, then asked, "Just how do they plan to send us back?"

Charley shrugged. "One of their 'Interest Groups' has been playing around with wormholes, is all they told me. But they promised whatever they do will be safe for us!"

Kim exchanged apprehensive glances with Shego, then looked Charley in the eye. "So, if and when we get back, it may just be us saving the world?"

Charley hesitated, then shrugged. "What else is new?"

00000000000

When the alarm went off in GJ headquarters, Professor Dementor was giving a statement to Will Du, who himself was restricted to light duty for the moment.

"Ja, it was all Fiske's idea! He vas certain that I must be on the list of this bomber who's been attacking us all! Und so, he decided to force him to come into the open, by presenting the threat of me escaping into your custody before I could be killed! Of course if this 'bomber' person was actually trying to rid the world of people such as me, why vould he care if I was arrested? But try reasoning with that _verd..._pardon. In any event, he compelled me to assist him in his plan, never explaining how he vas going to do anything about a bomber vay up in the air, if it started bombing me!"

Dementor gestured at his injured leg. "Und look vat it got me! By the vay, vhere is dat young lady who saved my life? I vould like to see her again, to properly thank her...Vas is Dat!" The alarm siren had gone off. Dementor grabbed hold of his mattress with both hands, looking around in a panic. Will Du shot to his feet, and regretted it instantly as his injured rib protested. He tried to contact the Ops Room on his wrist comm, only to find several dozen others trying to do the same. He started across to a wall phone, before realizing that the lines would probably already be busy, as well.

A few moments later, another GJ Agent burst in, shouting, "We're under attack, again! They're shooting people, and turning them blue!"

"IT IS DRAKKEN!" Dementor shouted, "He is trying to make us all like him!" When he saw the skeptical looks directed at him, he shrugged, "Vat? You don't think he's capable of such a thing?"

00000000000

On the Detention Level, Agent Douglas had been fidgeting nervously. He had no right to be here, and feared that SSA Bars would spot him, and ask why he was on this level. All Douglas knew was that the first set of instructions he had received had told him that a diversion would occur, allowing him to facilitate the escape of the twelve men captured during the jumpship attack. The second set of instructions had confused him, he couldn't understand how letting the Air Force ship into the hangar unscanned could help, unless the escapees were supposed to use it to escape? That didn't seem likely. Of course, Douglas didn't know he'd received those instructions from two different minds, with entirely different agendas.

Then the alarm went off, and Douglas made his move, quickly deactivating the security screens on the cells he wanted, and opening the doors manually. A few of the prisoners knew him, but the others were wary, and it took precious moments for their comrades to convince them this was on the level. Douglas led them quickly away from the central control area, and keyed open a concealed door well out of sight of Bars and those around him. "This stairway goes all the way up to the surface. It's quite a climb, but the best I can do! Once up top, head west, that'll get you off the military reservation the fastest, understand?" Some nodded, the others didn't waste that much time, but crowded through the door, and began climbing.

Douglas went the other way, moving around to where he could watch the agents at the central control. There were five, clustered around Bars. All were looking intently at a monitor tuned to the external cameras. Douglas wondered what kind of diversion his leader had arranged. Then he found out.

With a suddenly displacement of air, a figure appeared in front of him, a meter tall little humanoid in crimson armor, with a pointed helmet on his head. Douglas had an incongruous thought, that it looked like a fully armored garden gnome. It faced away from him, but he saw it raise it's gun and fire, hitting one of the men in the crowd. The target was enveloped in blue light, and when it faded, his now-nude body collapsed to the floor, colored a pale shade of blue.

Douglas spun around and rushed back to the hidden staircase, keying the door open hastily and dashing through after the escapees.

00000000000

Betty Director stopped on the fourth landing down from the surface, still two above the hangar level. "Colonel! Mister Secretary! Over here, please!" Betty brought up her wrist comm, and tapped a code sequence into it's miniature keyboard. A small panel opened in an otherwise blank wall, revealing a keypad. Betty quickly entered another code into it, and a the outline of a door appeared, swinging inwards to reveal a sizable room beyond.

"GRENADE!" Someone shouted above her, and she looked up to see a flicker of blue light, probably two levels above her. No sound of a detonation accompanied the light, no cries or screams, but she had no doubt casualties had been suffered.

Mandley approached, limp noticeably worse, the Secretary and six AFSPs in a cluster behind him. "Safe Room?" He asked Betty, gesturing though the door.

She nodded, "Should be secure, there are medical supplies inside, keep the Secretary in there, and you, too, Colonel! You'll find some small grenades, the only weapons I think we have in there that will affect these things, based on what's happened so far!"

"And what are you going to be doing, may I ask?"

"Taking my Base back, that's what!" She ushered them all inside, then closed the door and the access panel. Another grenade, this one unheralded, detonated on the landing above, and she saw a bare blue arm dangle over it's edge.

"Time to go, Betts!" Abby grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the stairs down. She saw three or four of her people coming down from above before she turned her attention downwards. "We'll go through the hangar, try and reach Ops, Abby!"

But as they reached the access to the Hangar, Ops called her. "Doctor Director, they're appearing inside! Down in detention, and now in the hangar!"

Betty pulled her hand away from the door. Three agents came down the stairs, the last ones left above them. "These things are slow on the stairs, because of their short legs, Ma'am, but they're still coming!" One reported to her.

Betty responded with a curt nod, while speaking back to Ops. "How are they doing it?"

"No idea, Ma'am! They're popping out of thin air, one at a time, that's all we can tell you right now!" Betty exchanged knowing glances with Abby. "The skulls! His Skulls! They _are_ in the base, and they're teleporting these little bastards around!" Betty spat out, angrily.

0000000000

Actually, it was the Synthetic Master who was running things now from the Valeyard's hideout, while also monitoring another experiment of great interest to himself. "I may be an artificial shadow of my real self, my dear Valeyard, but you made a mistake, leaving me my pride! No one uses the Master, no one!" He muttered aloud, then looked at the images he was receiving from the four active skulls. Three were at GJHQ, George, outside the SIDRAT; Walt in detention, and Goldie in the hangar. The Master actually had no idea why detention, not knowing of the Valeyard's interest in Doctor Drakken. "I'm certainly happy he had these Crimson Yeoman of Denorthar, they're ideal for my plan."

There was a sudden flickering on all four screens, the four skulls all seeming to become unstable. Then a small bank of indicators on a nearby console lit up, and everything stabilized again. The Master frowned, thoughtful. _"Obviously our control system is becoming rebellious again, I wonder if I can use it to my advantage?"_

On screen, he saw through Goldie's eyes a squad of Yeomen sweeping through the hangar, as others examined the massive elevator, and the access doors to the main facility beyond. "_A dead end, it seems, their personal weapons cannot destabilize so large a mass as those doors undoubtedly represent. Ah, well, all I needed was an attack, to make myself useful! And I dearly hope when the Valeyard returns that another one of his personae is in control!"_

00000000000

A very angry Army one-star General was about to lose patience with his unexpected caller. "Listen, Miss! I am trying to mount a rescue operation to save the Secretary of the Air Force, from something my weapons may very well be ineffective against, I have no time..."

A very angry Zita Flores interrupted him, "I'm trying to tell you, you _do _have some weapons there that will work, if you'll just let me explain!"

She muttered another word or two the General didn't catch, but he doubted he'd have liked what she said. "Oh, really? And just how would you have discovered the presence of such weapons on _my _base?" His tone was heavy with sarcasm.

"Because I can see them on the homepage of your website, Sir!" She snapped back. The General blinked, and looked at his desk computer. The screen saver was the same collage of pictures as the homepage. He peered at it intently. "What are you talking about? I don't see any special weapons?"

"The top left hand image, Sir!" The General peered at the picture, frowning. The image in question was a company of men dressed in authentic frontier period uniforms. Fighting down an urge to snap at the girl, he demanded, "Explain!"

"It's a simple matter of chemistry, Sir!"

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A curious thing was occurring on the surface above the base. More creatures, these wearing armor colored dark blue, bulkier, and apparently unarmed, were collecting the humans shot so far in that attack. Working in teams of four, they were picking up the victims and carefully bearing them to an area where others had laid out groundsheets, on to which the bodies were gently laid, then covered with another sheet, except for their faces. The victims currently formed two rows along the edge of the grove the SIDRAT sheltered in.

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"Do you think Shego may have something in her plane that might hurt these things?" Abby asked Betty anxiously. The anxiety was mainly based on the need to decide quickly whether to enter the hangar or retreat farther down the stairs, before their pursuers caught up with them.

"Maybe, but we don't have the time to bypass whatever security system she has on it!" Betty cautiously eased the door open and peered into the hangar. Two of the crimson intruders were peering right back at her, from fifty feet away. "SNAP!" she cursed, slamming the door. "Down, quickly!"

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Will Du was feeling every movement in his sore ribs. Trying to get the infirmary evacuated and the occupants moved to a lower level was now his responsibility.

The proximity of the still breached main base entrance door meant he had little time, of that he was certain. Just outside the doorway, he waved a gurney bearing Dementor past. The diminutive German had been sedated, more for Will's good then his own.

From the Ops Room, Agent Simpson's voice came over the PA system."All personnel, please pay attention. Sonic and electricity based stun weaponry is ineffective against these foes. However, Blunt force, including concussion from explosions, is believed to be effective."

"At last, Some good news!" Will said to himself, looking around for a suitable club. Another agent interrupted his quest. "Why don't we get the lethal stuff from the Armory?" He asked Will.

"We need Doctor Director to access it, that's why!" He replied curtly, "So find out where she is!" Will re-entered the now-empty infirmary, the agent following him.

"There are supposed to be three people, at least, with the access codes!" The man argued.

"One was Shields, and he was shot above! Bars is the third, and Detention is under attack, too, he may be down, as well!" Hearing a noise from the hall, Will turned to see the psychiatrist, Doctor Prior, emerge from a storage room across the hall, with an arm full of supplies. She looked up the hallway towards the main door, and froze, eyes wide with fear. Will took an instinctive step towards her, only to see her hit by a blue bolt, and collapse in a heap on the floor. Even the supplies she'd been carrying had vanished.

Finally spotting the obvious, Will snatched a fire extinguisher from a wall mount, and ducked to one side of the door. The sound of rapid footsteps could be heard clearly. Raising the extinguisher, Will struck as the first diminutive intruder came around the door frame, striking it's helm hard. There was a crack, and it collapsed in a heap. Will threw the extinguisher at a second target, then quickly snatched up the first creature's weapon. It seemed straightforward enough, and he hastily aimed it at another creature. Hoping he wasn't making a big mistake, he squeezed the trigger.

The other agent watched as a blue bolt struck the creature, which vanished entirely. But he also saw a small flare of blue light at the breech of Will's weapon, and suddenly Will, too, was enveloped with blue energy, which even dissolved the weapon he was holding, before the Asian agent fell to the floor. Somehow remaining composed, the watching agent activated his wrist comm. The channel had been cleared by now of non-essential chatter. "All Personnel! Do not attempt to use the enemy's weapons, if you acquire one, they backfire on humans!"

Something bounced through the doorway, a small spherical object, the size of a large marble. He didn't even have a chance to react before his world filled with blue light.

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Kim Possible began the uphill leg of her run, approaching the house they'd occupied for what seemed like a couple of months. That wasn't a definite estimate, however, the day/night cycle here not matching that of Earth. And despite the fact the time they'd return to Earth would be no different if they stayed a year, Kim was getting anxious about the waiting. Then again, she was the cause of the delay. "_Not any more, though! I'm as good now as I've ever been, no need to delay our return because of me!" _The temptations had been fierce though. At one point, she'd seriously considered proposing that they stay until the girls were older. They'd actually been offered bio-rejuvenation, the opportunity to return home as young as they wanted.

"_But Mom would kill me! Making her miss her granddaughter's early years!" _There was also the problem of cabin fever, only partially alleviated by VR sessions and practical jokes. They really needed to get going. Their few visitors had been guarded, aware of the need not to give Kim and company any access to advanced knowledge, even casually. At least they all looked human, except they had square nipples. And some were into odd forms of body modification, since they could easily reverse anything they did. A little more disturbing was the revelation that they could switch genders if they wanted. Through a complicated procedure, not spontaneously, which somehow reduced the discomfort Kim felt when thinking about it.

Suntanning was in progress on the main patio, though all were decently covered, in deference to Doctor Drakken. Shego sat in the shade, both babies sleeping in a swinging bed that she was gently moving back and forth, gazing out to sea. The novelty of the upward sweeping horizon had long ago worn off. She looked up as Kim approached, critically studying the girl. Kim grinned at her, certain she wouldn't find any fault. But the first thing out of Shego's mouth had nothing to do with Kim's physique.

"We have to go home, Kimmie, while I still can!" The plaintive tone surprised Kim. Shego cast her gaze on the babies. "I'm starting to think of staying here with them, or even leaving them here, where they'll be safe! Don't hate me for thinking that! The last time we fought this guy, three of us died, and this time, who knows!" Kim fought down her surprise. "_Cabin Fever!"_ She knelt in front of Shego, and took her hands in her own. "Ana, of course I don't hate you, I've thought the same things myself! I know this could go very badly, but we have to go back! And I agree, we have to go now!"

Shego looked her right in the eyes, as solemn an expression as Kim had ever seen on her face. "I promise you, I won't make the same mistakes I did in Go City, at the Dunn, or what I did in that other reality, which was practically the same, stupid,...I promise!"

"Ana, that world, it never happened! I mean, we have memories of next year, in _that_ world. All that will be left of it when this is done is what's in our heads, I'm sure!"

"And when did you sneak off and get a degree in Temporal Physics, or whatever, Kimmie?" Shego sat back in her chair, still swinging the sleeping babies. "I mean, we don't have any idea how 'real' that world is, or will be. We're _so_ out of our depth here, it's finally beginning to really register in this thick skull of mine! But, we have to see it through, we really have to finish it, because I get the feeling no one else can. And I never believed in destiny before, so why now?" She snorted, "Next, I 'll get religion!"

Kim couldn't really think of anything to say, so she switched her attention to her daughters. "I Wonder how many mothers before me said this? I can't imagine living without them, can't imagine losing them? I'm not going to, Ana, not while I can draw breath!" She looked down at herself. "Not sure why it was so important to get me back in shape, I'm probably staying on the sidelines to be near them."

"You mean 'we', don't you? If one of us would be at risk saving one of them, it would probably kill either of us to save them both. And, this guy doesn't recognize 'sidelines', Princess! You won't be safe anywhere that I can think of."

They were both silent for several minutes, before Kim rose and went to sit in another chair, after pulling it closer to the swing. "This has been nice, but I think it's time to find our Ruby Slippers, Dorothy!"

Shego smirked, "Do you think anyone would believe we've shared a bed this long, and not even kissed? On the lips, I mean?" Kim studied her for a minute, then began to lean closer. Wary at first, Shego suddenly pulled back. "Wait, Princess!" Kim stopped, a questioning look on her face. "I don't want to, until I know...that we'll both be here afterwards."

Kim pulled back, studying Shego's face, then nodded. "No Big, I understand. You don't want those memories if..."

"Not just that! I mean, I don't want you to...um, Kimmie, I want whoever you first...Doy! I'm blathering, I hate blathering! Princess, I want whoever you give yourself to to mean something to you, to be around for a long time...I still sound like a moron! I _can_ be that person, but I can't stand the idea of leaving you behind like that! Am I making _any_ sense!"

Kim smiled wanly, "Your words, so not! But, I get it, I really do!" She looked over at the sunbathers, and an obviously dozing Drakken. "Don't suppose the old 'I don't want to die a virgin' line would get me anywhere?"

Shego snorted, "Not really! Even if you are the only one left in that category in our little band!" Then she smirked, "Even if it nearly took force with Charley!"

"I think the home-cooked, candlelight dinner may have had something to do with it, Ana!" Kim was grinning broadly.

"That, and hiding all her clothes, so she had to wear that dress! Nice choice by the way, but I wonder if Ron was expecting basic black?" Shego blinked, "Wow! Getting too easy to call him Ron! I'll have to force out a 'Stoppable' or two, some time!"

"As long as you don't go back to 'Buffoon', you're fine." A shadow passed over them, and they looked up to see Thundagirl passing overhead. She had undergone a serious makeover into what the locals called an 'authentic' Cadre ship, one produced in a variety of roles to serve many different purposes. They had, after some discussion, given T-Girl a variant meant for Combat Search and Rescue missions behind enemy lines. She no longer had any control surfaces, and her upper hull now overhung her side hatches Two pylons extended horizontally from her sides well aft, and two long sponsons were on her sides, extending from just below the side hatches for about fifteen feet towards her tail. Two remotely operated drones were attached to the pylons, each with a flat upper surface a bit larger then that of a surfboard, with the underside resembling the hull of a boat. Two persons could lay flat on the top and be held safely in place, and they were flown remotely by T-Girl. Ron of course was greatly disappointed that they couldn't be ridden like a surfboard.

Her main cabin had been reduced somewhat in size, and both hatches were now the same. Panels in front of and aft of the hatches could now swing out to match the overhang, and generate a forcefield between them, to give protection to whoever was working in the hatches from any horizontal attack, whether manmade or natural. Her bulky transit tubes had been replaced with inclined 'couches', where one simply stepped onto a footrest and leaned back, about fifteen degrees off the vertical. Eight of these were now in the aft cabin, four in the forward, allowing some gender segregation. The horizontal tubes had been replaced with six 'stasis' beds, stacked three deep on either side of the aft cabin. The girls had lost their extra-dimensional 'personal stowage', but had found other ways to stow certain items so they alone would have access to them.

Lastly, Thundagirl was now a uniform gray color, but could alter the shade to any desired, as well as display symbols or writing on several panels on the outside of her hull. All in all, she was a little miffed at losing all the 'neat' external features, but admitted to liking her new 'purposeful' look.

"Well, better get to it!" Kim shot to her feet, and Shego nodded approvingly at the ease with which the girl now moved. Again. "T-Girl! Time to start packing!" Kim shouted up at the ship, also waking Drakken and those sunbathers who had nodded off. She looked one last time out at the huge world they hadn't been able to explore, sighed, and quietly said, "Time to go home."

"Amen, Princess!"

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The GCPD's forward command post was at the intersection of King and Gregory Streets, roughly in the middle of the financial and business district. Barricades manned by heavily armed officers protected a clearing station for casualties. Ambulances screamed away on their way to the hospitals, though the rate of departures had dropped since the first attacks, nearly eighty minutes before. The sun was setting, it being nearly 6 PM, though the hot summer day had yet to give up it's grip on the city, with the mercury just below ninety.

A convoy of vehicles bearing Federal Agents from several Agencies rolled to a stop at the command post.

Inspector Bennett "The Wall" Ball was in charge of the police efforts against the monsters in Go City. He'd gotten his nickname playing nose tackle at Go City University, and at age 55, he still looked like he could play the position, and his uniform fit his massive frame perfectly. He showed absolutely no sign that the heat, or the situation, were getting to him. Ball didn't appear in the public eye often. He wasn't a big fan of Mayor Lewis, but was indispensable to the politician. Because Ball got the job done. Especially when it hit the fan as hard as it was doing right now.

Another reason, admittedly, was that Inspector Ball took no crap from the Feds, and was the only senior police officer that Everett Deal wouldn't try and bully. The FBI SAC had just arrived from his office at the Federal Building, and was trying to catch up on events. But just listening to some of the conversations going on around him told him that getting a handle on this madness wasn't going to be easy.

"Let me get this straight. Two pro wrestlers, and a Chef, are killing these things?"

"Yep, Pain King and Steel Toe, they're tackling the raptors, while the chef uses a cleaver to decapitate them! Then, when it's blind, they leave it to a group of cooking interns to chop up. They still have to be careful, but so far, I hear they're doing fine!"

"Yeah, we got a report that BarberRosa and Pseudo-Sumo are doing the same trick, he knocks them down, she gives them the chop!"

"She decent?"

"Black leather, neck to toes. Course, it's six PM, and still 85 degrees, how long that leather will last, who knows? More important, are we going to bust them?

"Sumo's on bail, and I heard he's turning State's on the Macheles deal. As to blondie, as long as she's killing these things, we'll give her a pass."

"It's not all going well, some guys missed the optic cables with a fire ax, and didn't realize it! When the thing reformed with it's remaining mass, a couple got torn up!"

"Yeah, and don't try fire on them! Some guy walked out of his basement on Van Allen, with a military backpack flamethrower! His two sons were right behind him, hauling some other illegal ordinance for him to use. But, he douses one of these things with napalm, and it turned around and leaped right on him! Sons were smart, couldn't save him, dropped their stuff and ran back into the cellar, locking the door behind them!"

"One other thing, all these places where they're going down in numbers? Well, take down four or five in a row, and the others suddenly start converging on that spot! And one of the big ones always shows up, so somehow, they sense serious threats, and swarm them!"

"Where's Team Go?" Deal heard that one more than once, but no answer, yet.

Ball called for attention. "People, as near as we can tell, about half of these things are down already, and all the civvies have gone inside! These raptors don't seem to have the mass to break doors down, even full grown, they're still only fifty, sixty pounds, total. But, here's some bad news: We've been told that not all of these things came from the sky, somebody must have hidden some on the ground somewhere, so there may be more waiting to be activated! We need to get a search organized, while still dealing with the ones remaining on the streets!"

A SWAT officer walked up to the Inspector. "Sir, it's no use, we can't use snipers effectively! We can see those boxes inside them when they're backlit, but the light is refracted so much, passing through them, that we can't tell exactly where to shoot. Also, Our bullets can only reach them if we fire in through their flanks, elsewhere their 'flesh' is too thick! We've gotten two of them, but that's all, for nearly a hundred rounds expended! The Raptors move too fast to track with scopes, as well!"

The Inspector turned to look down the King Street. He saw one green raptor dart across the road. When he'd arrived, no less then four or five were constantly visible. That positive sign was negated when he saw one of the purple T-Rexes come out of a side street, pursuing two police officers. They managed to dive down the entrance to the subway and escape, though from the way they went in, Ball suspected they had had a hard landing. He wasn't a big fan, but even he muttered, "Where _is_ Team Go!"

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"MEGO! Come on!" Hego bellowed from the front seat of the Go-Cart. The Wegos were standing in the back, practically dancing with impatience.

"I found it!" Mego cried, dashing into the hangar and leaping into the seat next to Hego. On his wrist was an odd looking silver device, covered with buttons, with a square projection jutting forward past his hand, looking like the barrel of some kind of weapon. "Good thing we were allowed to hang onto a couple of Electronique's toys, right, guys?"

"Actually," Hego replied as they took off, "I believe we were supposed to turn in _all _of her gadgets that we found in the Tower?" He gave Mego a baleful look, but then smiled, "However, if you only _just_ found it, that would be all right!" Mego rolled his eyes, but where once it would have been in exasperation, now it was in amusement. "Gotcha, just now tripped over it as I was running to catch the Cart. Now, are we going to say anything about someone cutting our news feed, so we didn't even hear about this for nearly an hour?"

Hego frowned, and nodded, "Yes! This time, we _will_ be saying something about it, and we _will _get an answer! Mister Pratt seems slow to realize a few things have changed around here, in my opinion!" He steered the Go Cart towards Gold Bluff Park, a determined look on his face.

"Man, Team Go is a lot more fun to be on, these days!" One of the Wegos shouted against the wind in their faces.

"Yes, well, sit down back there properly, you're setting a bad example for any children watching us!" Hego admonished them.

"Aw, Man! Some things never change!"

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As the Go Cart swooped down to a landing, the Valeyard, in his 'Gogore' persona, watched it. A hulking figure stood next to him. "Well, it's about time!" He snarled. "Now, let's see if we can draw the bitches out, by killing someone they care about!"

* * *

Well, hope my German accent for Dementor wasn't too bad.

Okay, it has been pointed out that some of my references borrowed from the Doctor Who universe would mean nothing to most readers. Not to mention, I make _too _many references to the DW Universe, LOL. This is Kim Possible, after all. Also, been accused of using the Ar'Ithane as a _Deus Ex Machina._ Guilty as charged.

For those who don't know your Time Lords, The Master I'm using is the original one, who I'm old enough to remember seeing the first time the episodes were shown in America. The problem is, most of my audience probably hasn't seen him. Ah, well, I'll try to stay more contemporary in the future.

The World the Doctor took everyone to is from the book 'The Also People', by Ben Aaronovitch, and is mentioned obviously without permission. For the record, Kim, Shego, and the others stayed there a little more than two months. I had more ideas for their visit, but the need to wrap this up caused some cuts.

For now, Please Read and Review.


	30. The Night Go City Bled, Part I

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

ON 9-21-09, began to re-edit this, and rearrange a few things. Should have put this over an earlier chapter. Now 9-27, and just finished and re-posted this chapter.

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In the Caribbean Sea south of Cuba six men were looking at death. They drifted inside the eye of a hurricane, where they'd been for nearly half an hour, watching the approach of the inner wall of the storm, looking around in the hope that their ship, or any ship, was near enough to rescue them before they were engulfed by the storm yet again.

They'd been washed overboard in the storm, and only by luck had they found themselves with this too-brief respite. Their ship had been unable to turn back to rescue them at the time, without risking being capsized outright by the waves, and by the time they had properly managed the turn, the chances of spotting the small knot of men had become nearly non-existent.

Two of the men were unconscious, supported by their fellows, who were near exhaustion themselves. That they had managed to stay together at all was a miracle, with only one small float to sustain them all. Now their time was running out, and none of them believed they'd last long once back inside the storm.

Looking skywards, one sailor noted the way the setting sun was turning the highest peaks of the storm clouds bright orange, while the men floated in rapidly deepening shadows. Though the flashing strobes on their life vests still flickered, there didn't seem to be anyone around to see them. And then the sky opened up, literally.

One moment, the sky was normal, and the next, a roughly circular hole appeared in it, containing swirling chaos within it. "Am I seeing things?" asked the sailor. Salt water intake had left his voice barely more than a croak, but another sailor heard and looked up, even as the hole collapsed in on itself, leaving a small dot in the sky where it had been. "It's a plane of some kind!" The first sailor exclaimed.

"Yes, but can it see us!" The answer apparently was yes, because the dot suddenly grew, so fast it seemed as if the ship in question was in uncontrolled free fall. As it grew larger, one sailor squinted at it. "Never seen anything like...wait!" A glowing symbol and writing had appeared on the ship's underside. The symbol was legible far sooner then the writing. "TP? Who is...Team Possible?" He finished in awestruck tones.

Thundagirl's rate of descent slowed dramatically as she dropped below a hundred feet, and her port side hatch slid back. Illuminated from within, Shego and the Reeder twins became visible, clad in one-piece swimsuits of a practical cut. "We're dreaming, rescue swimmers don't dress like that!" One sailor opined.

At thirty feet, all three women dove, Shego straight out, the twins angling to either side. As they cleared the hatch, other figures appeared, and a net was lowered over the hatch sill. All three swimmers entered the water cleanly, and Belle and Beth surfaced almost immediately. One sailor was peering about for their third rescuer when Shego surfaced practically in his face. "Listen, I know this isn't your problem, but we have other places to be, so let's get the lifesaving over as quickly as possible, Okay?" she asked, even as she took hold of one of the unconscious men and began to tow him back to Thundagirl.

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The hatch slid shut, closing out the storm, which was right on top of them now. Charley was scanning the sailors, while Ron, Shego, and the twins administered First Aid. JJ moved back to the entrance to the aft compartment, which now had a privacy screen which could block light and sound to any degree desired.

"Kimberley, if you're going to fidget, let me hold her, she knows something is wrong with you, she can sense it!" Wearing a calf-length dressing gown, Doctor Drakken was sitting on a fold-out seat next to the entryway itself, Milly in his lap, smiling curiously up at him, though starting to get vexed that he had broken eye contact with her. Drakken's appearance had changed. His skin showed no sign of blue in it, and his hands were now the proper size for his body. He hadn't been idle during their stay in the sphere.

Kim was pacing back and forth, wearing a thigh-length nightshirt. She was agitated, and Amy, who she was carrying, was looking worried. Kim's appearance might have startled some, she looked as she had at her disastrous press conference, still gaunt and sickly. This was due to a pendant draped around her neck. It allowed her to alter her appearance at will, but not disguise herself. She had to look like Kim Possible, but could alter her perceived weight and skin tone as she chose. "No, I'm all right, Doctor D. I just don't like sitting in here, while..." She gestured towards the compartment door, her face clearly showing her frustration.

"We agreed to keep your good health a secret, Kim, in case it gives us an advantage against the Valeyard." JJ pointed out, "He may make a foolish move, if he doesn't know you're at your peak."

"I know! But still, I hate being inactive, even when I know you can handle the sitch!" Roy was giving her a look, upset that she was upsetting Amy in turn. A 'Tsk, Tsk!" sound emanated from him. Kim looked at the little skull, and grinned, "I know, Roy, I'll cheer up, now that those men are safe!" Roy was still red, but now had a pair of small gold 'angel' wings. He was still the same size, unlike Fred and Saul, who were now close to the size of a normal adult human skull. They hadn't changed their appearance otherwise, however. Ben now had a set of silver stripes sweeping back from the corners of his eyes, then rising into a peak at the back. He also was still the same size as before. At the moment, he appeared to be perched on Drakken's right shoulder.

Ron entered the compartment, dressed in a robe similar to Drakken's. "Nearest place we can drop these guys off is Guantanamo Naval Base, so we're headed there." He announced, and Drakken winced. "You know what I associate that place with, of course!" He commented.

Kim looked at him thoughtfully. "You know, we could drop you off at Isle Drakkon, before going North, Doctor D."

Drakken looked mildly shocked at the offer, and shook his head. "No, you mustn't delay, Kimberley, never mind how you'd explain it to Doctor Director, or the other authorities!" He regarded her with a slight smile, "Kimberley, I am not a good person. I still have not decided my future course, so you shouldn't base your actions on our experiences in that marvelous place! We may still very well come into conflict, I'm sorry to say."

Those words caused a sad look to cross Kim's face. She sighed, then nodded, "I understand, Sir." One of Drakken's eyes twitched at the formal address, but he kept the rest of his expression impassive. Kim returned her attention to cheering up Amy. Until a familiar four-tone series of beeps sounded through the compartment. Ron promptly produced his Kimmunicator from his robe pocket.

"Wade, my man! We're back, but you may not have known we were actually gone...ah, you didn't call to hear me talk, what up, Wade?" It took a few minutes to relay all the news Wade had at his disposal. Kim was frowning again, and abruptly passed Amy to Drakken. "Uncle Slim? Why him?"

"He's hosting an Old West reenactment group he belongs to, this weekend. They have authentic weapons, or rather modern replicas of Old West weapons, most of which they load with old-style Black Powder. It shouldn't be affected by whatever's neutralizing nitrocellulose at GJHQ, because it's not an ingredient of the old-style powder, that used potassium nitrate, instead! Oh, and the Army base sharing the reservation with GJHQ has a drill unit that dresses in frontier era uniforms, and has replicas of the Springfield rifles of the time that are fully functional! Only problem is, I don't think they get much marksmanship practice with them! But, it's the best I could do!"

"'kay, Wade, I understand! He doesn't like Joss to hang around with the gun enthusiasts, I remember about that. Where do you think we should head, when we can jump?"

"I'm not sure! Most of the monsters in Go City are already dead, and Team Go is fighting them now. But, I have no idea how things are going at GJ, I can't raise them for some reason! Maybe you should divide your forces?"

Kim made a face. "Only if we have to, Wade! Oh, tell my parents I'm okay, they're probably kinda worried by now!" Seeing the look that passed over Wade's face, she became suspicious. "Are my parents okay, Wade?"

"What? Yeah, they're fine, Kim, but..." He related the events of the attack on her home.

Kim closed her eyes and put her hand to her forehead, briefly massaging the skin, while shaking her head slightly. "I never meant to put my family in danger like this!" She opened her eyes and composed herself. "Wade, are they all right, now? Are you and your mom all right?"

Wade nodded vigorously. "Yep! We're pooling our resources with your family for mutual protection! Don't worry about us, Kim, go get the bad guy! Um, or rather, let Shego, Ron, Charley, whoever, go after him, you obviously can't!"

Kim scowled, "What do you..." then she remembered her appearance, "Oh, don't go by what you see, Wade, I'm actually perfectly fine, just don't want the Valeyard to find out, just yet."

"Ooookay." Wade replied, looking highly dubious. Kim smirked. "Honest, Wade! If you don't believe me, ask Ron!"

The boy genius shook his head, "No! I mean, I do trust you, Kim, but in the past, you've sometimes been less then honest about your health, remember?"

Kim winced. _"You know, sometimes I wonder where I got a reputation for honesty in the first place!"_ She thought sourly, but responded with a grin, "Yes Wade, I remember, but this time I'm telling the truth, I swear!"

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They landed as close to the base medical facility at Guantanamo as they could, having called ahead of course. Shego was standing, still in her wet swimsuit, at the head of the ramp as it lowered. The first thing she noticed was that there was a whole lot of brass present, including at least one Admiral and one Marine General, in addition to a lot of cameras pointing her way. For a moment, she actually entertained the thought that she was the cause of all the commotion, then smirked and shook her head. "_Nope, I do not rate this kind of attention, maybe it's a photo op, or something!" _They were close enough to the hurricane for heavy rain to be falling, yet no one seemed inclined to move into shelter.

Navy Corpsmen and doctors swarmed aboard, putting the six men on litters, and bearing them quickly down the ramp and onto gurneys, after which they were rolled inside. Shego noticed that the brass all fell in behind the second gurney and followed it inside, and frowned thoughtfully. Meanwhile Charley briefed the doctors as best she could. Her ability to announce the exact amount of salt water in stomaches and lungs among other things, surprised them, but they took her at her word.

As the last of their boarders disembarked, one Marine Captain wearing an MP brassard lingered to study Shego. Coming out of her reverie, she returned his scrutiny coolly. "Planning on taking any action?" She asked mildly.

He shook his head, "Not today, I'm not! And tomorrow, you may not even be wanted!" He started to leave, adding, "At least, not in England!"

Shego stepped forward and halted him with a light touch on the arm. "What? What do you mean by that?"

The Captain seemed surprised, then amused. "Didn't you know? You people just saved a member of the Royal Family!" He turned and walked down the ramp, chuckling to himself.

Shego stood blinking in shock for a moment, then shook her head. She strode towards the aft compartment, slipping her suit straps down off her shoulders as she went. But as soon as she passed into the compartment, she popped back out. "Sorry, Doctor D!" She stood there, Charley and the twins as well, until Ron, Drakken, and Rufus all went forward to the cockpit, then went into the aft compartment. Kim was still dressed, bouncing Amy on her hip, while smiling at Milly, whom Belle was holding. One new wrinkle with the new system was that she and Shego could hold their babies during transit. In fact, each couch could hold two individuals, though the requirement for them to be nude and in a tight embrace sort of limited the options.

"What was the reason for dumping us all the way down here, again?" Shego asked Charley as she pulled her wet suit off.

"Well," Charley replied, "A wormhole is an unstable portal through time and space. Manifesting the exit of one directly above a pre-existing instability would be very bad. In fact, doing it anywhere near the instability would be bad, so they put us down here where it's safe!"

"And we just coincidentally appeared over someone who needed rescuing?" Shego took Amy from Kim, who pulled off her nightshirt. "And a member of the British Royal Family, to boot?"

"Really?" Kim asked, almost nonchalantly, as she took the pendant off, and resumed her true appearance. Shego looked askance at her for a moment, then smacked her forehead, "Oh, Right! Been there, done that, eh, Princess?" Then she handed Amy back to Kim, before taking Milly from Belle.

Kim smirked as she stepped up on the footrest of her couch and leaned back. "So not the Drama! You save one crowned head..." She then waited for everyone to get situated. "Okay, T-Girl! Let's go!" Kim called out. "Go City first, then Ron and Rufus go to Global Justice, in case they need the help!" Moments later she felt herself lift out of contact with the couch, and then...

PAIN!

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Betty Director, now with just Abby and four other agents left with her, exited the stairway onto level six, where the armory was located. She had hoped to open it remotely from the Ops Room, where she could have had a better grasp of the overall situation, but things were just not working her way, today.

According to her people in Ops, the intruders had stopped appearing in the hangar, after approximately thirty had been ported there. That suggested to Betty that one of the skulls was changing location. In addition, the intruders had left a group of ten of their number in the hangar, positioned to cover the main elevator and the entrance to the base beyond. The rest had marched into the stairwell, and were most likely descending.

"Find something to barricade the door!" she ordered the agents with her, as she dashed down the main corridor, then turned right into the Armory area. More than a dozen agents were gathered there, and they displayed clear signs of relief when they saw her coming. "All Right! We'll break out the Lasers first, but not the heavy ones, they're too powerful to fire off inside. I want two people for each laser, one to carry spare power clips! Then we'll see if the those pulse rifles we captured from WWEE can be made to work. Anyone know where Doctor Laird is?"

"In the lab, Ma'am, trying to put something together to use on these things, the last I heard!" One agent responded. Betty nodded as they made way for her to reach the keypad lock. She applied her thumb to a flat screen, while typing in her code with the other hand. When she finished, she spun around to head back into the hall and see how the barricade was coming along. She'd taken two strides when she realized she hadn't heard the vault door unlock. She spotted a vent opening in the wall out of the corner of her eye, and instinctively lunged for the door into the hall. She hit the floor hard on one shoulder, tucking and rolling through the doorway seconds before a security door dropped into place, and knock-out gas began to fill the room she'd just vacated.

"Dammit! Just like after the cruise missile strike, someone's hacked our security system!" Abby helped Betty to her feet, the Director rubbing her sore shoulder. "And it must be an inside job! We added too many precautions against an outside hack after the last time!"

Betty's wrist comm buzzed. "Now what?" She activated the link. "Yes, what is it?"

"Ma'am, this is Agent Core! Something is happening in Ops! Our people in there started disappearing! First Simpson, then Adrian, Harp, and Kelli Lindell! I ducked out, but no one else made it!"

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Kelli Lindell had been trying to run an analysis on the signal negating firearms, when she heard an exclamation and looked up, to see Frank Adrian vanish into thin air. She saw Brenda Core by the door, eyes widened in shock, then recovering and backing towards the door, scanning the room for the source of the new attack. Kelli didn't see Harp vanish, facing in the wrong direction when it happened, and she never saw a sign of Goldie, who was actually lurking below the level of the consoles and equipment.

But suddenly she found herself outside, standing in the open. Looking down, she saw the bodies of those who had disappeared before her huddled at her feet. She spun around to find a row of the intruders leveling their weapons at her, a green skull hovering behind them. "No!" she shouted, just as they fired. She had hardly hit the ground when the next Ops Room technician appeared, and was gunned down.

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"It's my own damn fault!" Betty cursed, "After Charley's skulls showed they had the run of the place, Graham and Laird both proposed measures to contain them, but I never ordered them to be implemented!"

"No time for recriminations now, Betts!" Abby replied, "We have to come up with some kind of plan, and quick!" The four agents left to barricade the stairwell door appeared. "Ma'am! We've got the door taken care of. I know I could hear them on the other side, but they made no attempt to break it down! At least, not yet!"

"All right! Let's see if we can get to my private quarters, I might have something useful there!" Betty led the way to the nearest interior staircase. After the elevator incident during the previous attack, she definitely wasn't getting in one now.

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On the surface, the blue intruders continued to collect the bodies of their victims. The Crimson Yeomen still above the surface marched around the perimeter in groups of six, keeping perfect formation. The exception was the six who had formed the firing squad. They stood in line, weapons at Port Arms, waiting for a new batch of targets.

The four heavy weapons crews were now deployed around the grove, one at each compass point. The northern one suddenly became alert, trying to locate some diffused sounds coming from beyond the hills in that direction. They briefly glimpsed something through the treetops, but it didn't remain in sight long enough to be identified, or targeted.

Moments later, the western team spotted something streaking down from the sky, vanishing behind a low ridge. Again, the target wasn't in sight long enough to engage.

The northern targets had been three Army helicopters, who disembarked thirty soldiers from the demonstration unit, each armed with a replica 1873 'Trapdoor' Springfield Rifle. Six more men carried modern weaponry. All carried grenades unlikely to be affected by the suppression field. They were in their modern fatigues and gear.

The unit had two main problems. Their demonstrations had never required accuracy, and were in fact usually performed with blank ammunition. Each man now had only twenty rounds each of live ammo, but only eleven of them had ever really practiced their marksmanship with these weapons. They began scouting the terrain for the best way to get close enough to make their shots count.

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Agent Douglas and the escaping prisoners had had their own adventures. There was only one exit between the detention level and the surface, and that led to the hangar. A quick foray in search of an aircraft to take had cost them half their number when they spotted one of their own ships, and rushed over to see if it was still capable of 'jumping' out. The first six had never seen the Yeomen that cut them down.

Douglas and the others had made it back to the stairs, and rushed upwards as fast as they could. They didn't stop until they reached the access hatch, where they stopped to catch their breaths, listening for signs of pursuit. There were none, since pursuing them would cause the Yeomen in the hangar to abandon their post, something they wouldn't do without orders.

"Okay!" Douglas said, as soon as he stopped panting, "This hatch is on the far side of the ridge west of the hangar elevator, we should be out of sight of anyone around the main complex!" He opened a panel besides the hatch to expose a keypad, and entered the code. Douglas had always had excellent computer skills, more then adequate to run the programs necessary to hack the base's internal security, though the programs themselves had been designed by others.

He really had lost faith in GJ's method of dealing with supervillains, and had been an early recruit in this new organization dedicated to ridding the world of them. He hoped that somehow his cover would remain intact after this, if GJ itself remained intact, but he doubted it.

The hatch opened automatically, and the seven men slipped quickly through, to find themselves in a small hollow just below the crest of the ridge. While the others stayed low, Douglas straightened slowly up, moving cautiously towards the crest, to try and get a look at the situation. All he could see now was the smoke rising from the still-smoldering Air Force ship. He nearly jumped out of his skin when a voice spoke behind him.

"And just where do you boys think you're going?" Came a male voice with a distinctive western twang. Douglas spun around, and his jaw dropped at the sight before him.

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Betty Director led her people up to Level Five, peeking through the doorway to see several agents and staff personnel in the hallway, some standing around uncertainly, others huddled together, apparently making plans. Betty turned and began to usher the agents with her through the door. Just as Abby went through, movement at the top of the next flight of stairs up caught Betty's eye. She looked up to see Walt hovering there, looking at her. Before she could react, she was outside.

She found the firing squad aiming their weapons at her. There was nowhere to run, so she didn't waste the effort. She straightened up and glared defiantly at them, and the green skull hovering mockingly above them.

She jumped when a series of loud reports sounded behind her, well behind her, and three of the firing squad were knocked flat by violent impacts. The others switched their attention away from her, and she immediately threw herself flat on the ground, rolling to look in the direction the shots had come from.

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"Musket One, this is Musket Six, I hear firing from your side, have you engaged?" The Major commanding the Army troops spoke into his radio.

"Negative, Musket Six, there's another group engaging them, from the ridge line to the west, and pretty damn effectively, too!"

"Musket One, can you identify this group?"

"Musket Six, the best way I can do that is...The Magnificent Seven?"

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It vexed Betty Director no end to just lie there while the firefight went on, but she had little choice at the moment. She did keep an eye out for George, worried that he might send her back inside and into another trap, but the green skull had either flown away, or gone to stealth mode.

Black powder weapons generated a lot of smoke, and the crest of the ridge to the west was crowned with a thickening bank of it by the time most of the Yeomen around her had been cut down. More firing could be heard to the north and east as the Army troops opened fire.

Throughout the firing, the Blue Yeomen didn't move, but stood in ranks next to the bodies they'd collected, apparently waiting for more people to fall. Even when one or two of them were hit, they held their positions. Betty took a moment to study the collected bodies, trying to make sense of it all.

The Crimson Yeomen didn't fight with modern tactics, but more like soldiers of previous centuries, forming ranks and firing volleys. With their targets well concealed, they had no success that Betty could discern. Within ten minutes, all those between the woods and the ridge line had been eliminated. None had tried to shelter behind the wrecked transport, or make any use of cover.

Betty's wrist comm was demanding her attention, and she finally activated it, and spoke quickly and curtly, overriding several inquiries competing with each other. "I'm all right, so far! Look after yourselves, we have help up here!"

As she signed off, she saw her deliverers stand up and advance down the slope towards the elevator and the wrecked transport. A brief incredulous look crossed her face, to be replaced by a wide grin.

Five men and two women came towards her, dressed as if they'd stepped right out of an old photo from the Wild West, reloading their various weapons as they came. Slim Possible led them, with Jen Paladin and Sam McCarron to his right, and one or two other faces familiar to Betty as well.

As he approached, Slim took a spare gun belt looped over his shoulder off and offered it to Betty. "Think you can make do with this, until we shut down whatever's causing your problems, Betty?"

Keeping her face neutral, Betty took the belt and buckled it on. Tightened to the most worn notch, It was a perfect fit. She removed the replica Navy Colt from it's holster and checked it's load. "I think I can manage. As to the source of the problem, I think it's in the trees, there, and has to be handled carefully."

"I figured that, from what young Wade told me!" Slim replied, and waved his people towards the trees. The Blue Yeomen still stood unmoving, so they were ignored, as the six fighters picked their way between the laid out bodies and cautiously entered the trees. "By the way, Betty, caught one of your boys with six fellows in prisoner jumpsuits over the ridge, he claimed he was ordered to evacuate them by you. Then he tried to use his Stopwatch on me, so I knocked him out. Left the bunch of them tied up back there."

Betty scowled. "Well, you may have caught the traitor in our midst! Thanks, Slim!" She started to turn away, then faced him again. "By the way, the next time you fly off into the sunrise, and leave my bare backside sticking out in a cold room, you might find your subsequent reception a bit chilly, as well!"

Slim blushed slightly. "Sorry about that, gal, but I needed to get home and greet my guests! And getting clearance for sub-orbital flights is damn hard, you have to make your schedule if you don't want to set off an alert!" He looked around to see if anyone was watching. "Suppose this is too wide open to expect a kiss, ain't it?"

Betty rolled her eye. "I'll make it up to you later, you old...well, hello!" She had been interrupted by a familiar rumble, as Thundagirl had popped into existence above them. At least they assumed it was Thundagirl. "What have they done to that ship, now?" Betty asked in exasperation. The ship displayed the 'TP' logo on her side for a minute, but showed no sign of descending. Sporadic shots were echoing among the trees behind them, causing a thought to occur to Betty. "By the way, what kind of people are we letting run through my Top Secret base, Slim? I recognized Grant, FBI is okay, and I know Joe is a real US Marshal, so he's fine; not sure about those two hellions, but beggars can't be choosers!"

Slim snorted in amusement "They're all good, Betty! Hand picked them for both their gun skill and their security clearance! Well, look at that!" They saw one of Thundagirl's drones detach from it's pylon, roll level, and move up next to the ship's port hatch. Ron and Rufus climbed aboard and lay prone, as the drone descended and came quickly over to let them off in front of Betty and Slim. As soon as they slowed to a stop, boy and mole rat leaped off and ran to Betty, as their transport rose up and headed back towards T-Girl. "Team Stoppable reporting for duty, Ma'am!" Ron snapped off a somewhat sloppy salute. "Where do you need us?" The boy was wearing his usual mission outfit, except...there was a gun of some kind holstered on his right hip, and one of the mimetic multi-form weapons on his left hip.

Betty didn't answer, gazing at Thundagirl, who was speeding away northwards. "So many questions...but for now, where are they going now? Are they all right?"

Ron looked worried. "Go City! We tried jumping directly there, but we hit something, and found ourselves over Pennsylvania! So we jumped here, and now they're flying to Go City normally. I don't understand exactly what's happening, but it seems that not only time is being affected, but space as well, and the center of the problem is in Go City!"

Betty digested this, then shook her head. "Nothing I can do to help there, have to set things right here, first!" She looked at Slim. "Where did these men you caught emerge?" When Slim had finished describing the location, Betty nodded, and turned to Ron. "Ron, I need you to go down to Detention!"

The look on Ron's face was priceless, before he broke into a wry grin. "Well, some things never change, do they?"

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Airborne en route to Go City, the rest of Team Possible were dressing for battle, while watching news feeds from the scene. Doctor Drakken, Roy and Ben were taking care of the babies. Charley and her three friends had spent some time alone in the aft compartment, without explaining why to Kim, though she knew it had something to do with some of their recovered memories. They admitted that they still had some curious gaps in their knowledge, but some things were coming back to them. "Some of the things that we're now remembering are things we can't quite remember learning." had been the best Charley could tell her.

Kim grimaced. She still had a trace of the nausea they'd all experienced when T-Girl's jump had been 're-routed' away from the City. There had been a moment of panic regarding the babies, but then they had all seen something unexpected. A small amount of green plasma had manifested around Shego's hands, and seemed to pass into Milly, ending her crying instantly. That actually wasn't too much of a surprise, as they already believed that not only did the healing link exist between Kim and Shego, but extended to the little girls, as well. The surprise was that the same thing seemed to happen between Kim and Amy.

Charley had scanned everyone, of course. And when she scanned Kim, she reported that the tiny pool of Shego's energy inside her _had_ been diminished, slightly. The implications were fairly obvious. Now they were conducting a small experiment. Embarrassment overcome by scientific curiosity, Doctor Drakken watched the two women, currently wearing just briefs, as Shego fed a little plasma to Kim, with Charley monitoring.

Charley and the other girls were in their armor, though the plates weren't activated. The suits were now opaque, though quite snug, resembling nothing so much as thermal underwear. Nevertheless, each girl currently wore a short robe over the undersuit.

Drakken, a child in each arm, positioned himself where he could see the readouts on Charley's bracer. The girl glanced briefly at him, then looked startled.

"Oh! Forgot to say, I can now put the readouts on the main display, much easier to read!" Even as she said it, the primarily holographic display rearranged itself, going from four 'screens' to five. Drakken went quickly over to it. This way, at least, he had his back to Kim and Shego.

Glancing at the images from Go City, alert for signs of her brothers, Shego asked Kim, "Ready, Princess?" Kim nodded, and Shego summoned her power.

For a few moments, all the green plasma manifesting itself seemed to be absorbed straight into Kim. Then it began to dance across her skin, spreading out until it nearly covered her. "That's all, Shego!" Charley snapped. Shego exerted her will, and all the plasma seemed to flow back to her hands, and into her.

"Interesting," Doctor Drakken observed, "You've restored the same level of power as was in her before, so that would seem to be her limit for that purpose."

"Purpose, Doc? Not like this was planned, or anything!" Shego responded, skinning off her briefs and reaching for her own armor. Kim, on the other hand, put her pendant back on, before stepping in front of a reflective surface T-Girl generated, and beginning to mentally alter her appearance again. When she was satisfied, she began to don normal clothes. She'd be on the sidelines with the babies. Shego's disposition was still to be decided.

Suit in place, and sized properly, Shego put her own robe on, then waited for Kim to cover up before speaking. "Okay to turn around, Doctor D, we're as decent as we'll ever be!" Both women relieved Drakken of his burdens, though the scientist seemed reluctant to let them go. Both little girls were still upset by the mis-jump experience. Biologically, they were now close to six months old, after being stabilized, and then the stay off-world.

"Now that we're dressed, this is a great time to think of it, but we might consider feeding them before we get to Go, there may not be another opportunity for a while." Kim suggested. Shego considered it, then nodded. "Better to share now, then you having to do it yourself when we drop you at the Tower. The Flight Deck?" Kim nodded agreement, and the two mothers, after grabbing a few items, went forward, with T-Girl activating the privacy screen behind them.

While Drakken and Charley continued to study the results of the experiment, the others paid attention to the screens showing events in Go City. "Is the Valeyard getting silly? I mean, look at those creatures!" Belle exclaimed.

"We've seen sillier things that turned out to be lethal!" Beth reminded her. Charley suddenly looked up. "We should find out what he used to attack GJ, I was too preoccupied to notice!"

JJ spoke up. "I saw what looked like some Denortharian Yeomen lined up near the trees, the Blue labor troops, and maybe some Crimson ones as well." She frowned, "Why would he use Crimson Yeomen? With his mentality, I'd have expected Black, or maybe Gold?" Then a shocked look came over her face. "Oh! We have to tell Doctor Director about the Crimson Yeomen, and how their weapons work!" She pulled out her comm, and punched the code in for Ron.

The sounds of battle came through the speaker, and Charley looked up, a concerned frown on her face. "Ron, are you okay?" She asked anxiously, before JJ could speak.

"Oh yeah, the Ronman's kicking booty! But I really wonder if someone has a sick sense of humor where I'm concerned, these guys look just like...never mind! RUFUS! Three O'Clock! You call because you were worried about me, Charley?" Charley's face flamed red, but only because she hadn't been the one to initiate the call.

"Of course she is!" JJ snapped, "But we need something else, to talk to Doctor Director, it's urgent! Maybe!"

"Well, she's up..._oof!_...top, and I'm down in detention, maybe you should try reaching her through Wade?" There suddenly came a crash, and the sounds of electrical equipment shorting out. "Aw, Man! Not again!"

"Okay, Ron, we'll get back to you when you're not so busy! Later!" JJ signed off, then called Wade. She noted the guilty look on Charley's face, and gave her a sympathetic look, mouthing, 'No Big, he'd understand!"

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"Fire in the Hole!" Slim Possible shouted, and hurled a stick of lit dynamite into the SIDRAT, before turning and running like hell. He had no idea how wide the area of effect would be for certain when it imploded. He was all the way out of the trees when the dynamite exploded. As it turned out, the results were less impressive then the Middleton SIDRAT's destruction, the hole measuring only nine feet in diameter, and depth.

One of the Army troopers armed with a normal M4 aimed it in the air and fired a round off. "Good to go, Sir!" The Major acknowledged him with a nod, and turned to Doctor Director, "Our primary mission is to secure the Secretary, do you wish assistance in clearing your facility, as well?"

Betty considered the question, then shook her head. "No, get the Secretary out, and secure a perimeter around the base, until we see how many of them are actually still inside. Then I'll decide..." A buzz from her wrist comm distracted her, and she activated it. "Yes?"

It was JJ. "Doctor Director, I think I'm about to give you some good news! I don't think your people are dead, just in a form of suspended animation!"

Betty looked up into the eyes of the Major, who had lost seven men during the fighting, then at the carefully collected bodies of her people, and the Air Force personnel. "Explain, Please!"

JJ took a deep breath, "Okay, short version! Two races go to war. Neither likes to put their own flesh and blood at risk, so each creates surrogates to do the fighting. Race A makes robots, Race B makes synthetic lifeforms. Such as the Crimson Yeomen who attacked you. Anyway, after a couple of years of fighting, they've both taken some of each others' territory, and more importantly, prisoners, both military and civilian. But neither one can say they're winning the war!"

"So, Race A decides to try a new way to break Race B's spirit. They take some of their prisoners, and turn them into Cyborgs! You know, part machine, part organic? Well, they let Race B know that these cyborgs still knew who they were, but couldn't help following orders! So, Race B knows they're killing their own people, understand?"

Betty's face twisted into a grimace as she replied "Oh, Yes, I'm afraid I do! Continue, please!"

"But, Race B had advance warning of this plan, and developed the Crimson version of their Yeomen as a counter! The weapons they carry, at least the personal ones, destroy all non-organic matter nonviolently, and place organic tissue in a state of preservation, in the hopes the individuals can be restored physically later! They'll stay like that for a year without deterioration, I think, unless revived before then."

"So, you're saying these 'Yeomen' were just following a program? That somehow they were instructed to regard humans as their targets? That explains the actions of the Blue ones, anyway, collecting the victims for later evacuation. But how do we revive the preserved people?"

"I've got a chemical formula for a stimulant, Ma'am!" Charley cut in, "I'll try and find out if there's something on Earth that'll work as a trigger for revival. Or rather, Wade will, he's running it through right now."

Betty frowned, despite her relief. "Why would our enemy use such a force, a non-lethal one?"

Charley responded. "Three possibilities. One, he has one persona that doesn't like to kill. Two, he's scraping the bottom on resources, and had nothing else to use. Three...well, what would you have done with them, not knowing they were still alive?"

Betty closed her eye, while clenching both fists. "_Autopsy them, bury them, cremate them? My God, what if they revived..." _She only partly suppressed a shudder, before replying in a steady voice, "Understood, Charley. Which one do you think it is?"

"Honestly, Ma'am? I'd go with number two. Though, that might be my optimistic side talking! Oh, before reviving the victims, remember that any non-organic matter in their bodies is gone. Such as dental work, etcetera. Some may need special considerations. They also may need a jump-start, to get their bodies running again."

There was a pause, then Wade's voice came over the comm. "Doctor Director, do you happen to have a supply of Diablo Sauce handy?"

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The force of Hego's punch literally turned one T-Rex's head to vapor. The Fiber optic cables waved about briefly, before they retracted as the monster began to reform. But while it was blind, Hego lunged forward and plunged his hand deep inside the monster, trying to reach the control box. He'd hit this one three times, reducing it's size with each blow, and that had been all that was necessary for the first two he'd defeated. Now his groping fingers contacted the box, and he tried to get a grip on it, but the monster, sighted again, pulled away, then tried to bite him. Back went his fist again, and again he splattered the beast's head to the four winds.

Nearby, Mego ducked and rolled away from a raptor, cursing the recharge time on Electronique's weapon. Ten seconds between shots was very inconvenient against such fast creatures, and more and more of them began to concentrate on him as each minute passed. A sharp 'beep' emanated from the weapon, and he quickly snapped it up and fired. A small, bright bolt of electricity shot into the beast, which briefly flashed white, before melting away, leaving a few charred pieces of it's control box. "EMPs Rock!" Mego exulted, before having to evade another attacker. "Too bad I can't shrink while using this damn thing!"

"Language, brother!" Hego admonished, even as he caught a raptor in mid-leap, and plunged his hand into it to crush the box. His blue aura even protected his costume from the splashed-about matter from the defeated creatures, while all three of his siblings were splattered with it.

The Wegos were mainly playing decoy, though they had managed to gang up on and pull down two raptors. But only one had been finished off by a cop with a fire ax, a T-Rex had actually come to the rescue of the second, and been frustrated biting the duplicate Wegos, which vanished as it's teeth clamped down.

Inspector Ball was feeling more optimistic, there appeared to be only a handful of the dinosaurs left, and all were converging on Team Go's position. He grudgingly admitted that the heroes were doing good, and rumors that they had 'upped their game' were in fact true. He was beginning to have time to devote to lesser concerns.

Such as BarberRosa. As predicted, she hadn't kept her leathers on long, and was now in an outfit that one officer had said, "I could wad the whole thing up, and conceal it in my clenched fist!" The officer in question was a rather petite female. Still, it seemed churlish to bust the villainess, after what she'd done, accounting for at least nine raptors, albeit while wielding a totally illegal sword designed to mimic an oversize straight-edge razor.

Awesome Powers had made an appearance, using his own unique power. To have any superpower he could imagine, for ten seconds, once a day. Or rather, until he got a good night's sleep. He'd tried to build a criminal career out of flashes of power, and a lot of bluff. Today, he'd unfortunately chosen heat vision, and the dinos had proven _very_ heat resistant. Fortunately, he seemed to have a natural talent for the rapid ascension of ladders, and had made it out of the beasts' reach up a fire escape.

Pseudo-Sumo was in the hospital, badly bitten, saved from death by BarberRosa. Pain King, Steel Toe, and their helpers had been forced to seek a hiding place when the monsters had begun to concentrate against them. They couldn't handle multiple opponents at once.

The death toll was currently at seventy, with nearly three hundred injured. One reason for the high percentage of injured was simple. The beasts didn't seem to care if they killed with their first strike or not, often going straight on to another target while leaving many victims still very much alive. It appeared their purpose was focused on inflicting as many casualties on the populace as possible, fatal or otherwise.

Sixty of the casualties had been law enforcement officers, fifty-one of them from the GCPD. The National Guard had begun to arrive, but their rifles being no more effective then the weapons already present, they were assigned to crowd control and anti-looting duties. Even with monsters roaming the streets, people were trying to take advantage of the distraction of the police.

The TV News crews in the battle area were all operating from rooftops, mostly from the lowest they could find and access. But some video signals were reaching the networks and the Internet from brave or foolish souls on the ground. One had been transmitting from underneath a truck since the beginning, but was now suffering from a dying battery.

On the water side of Gold Bluff Park, several people had climbed over the railings to hide on the rocks below, hiding from a trio of raptors wandering amongst the trees. One happened to look out towards Go Tower, and sharply nudged a friend. "Hey, what's that?" he asked, pointing towards the Tower.

The friend looked, then shrugged, "Must be some kind of defense screen." The first man nodded, "Probably right."

A flickering column of light seemed to surround the Tower, fading in and out of visibility.

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Betty Director once again stood in her Ops Room. For the moment, she only had Agents Core and Waller with her, Core working on getting information from outside, Waller from inside the facility. Betty herself was trying to get through to Global Justice's Main Headquarters in Geneva, but there was trouble with the satellite signal.

"Ma'am, I have information on WWEE's attack on GJ Europe!" Brenda Core announced, "They managed to fight their way down through five levels of the base, and destroyed everything they overran, before they were forced out! Reports indicate that their troops performed at a higher level of proficiency then in previous engagements. Also, we seem to have lost our dedicated communications satellite over Europe, I think we're being routed through someone else's!"

Betty rolled her eye, slamming down the handset with a vengeance. "Damn! I'm almost sure Gemini isn't in league with the Valeyard, this time we _are_ the victims of a coincidence in timing!" She shook her head. "And fighting better? Sheldon goes through combat instructors faster then I do head scientists!"

"Doctor Director, Reports indicate that all levels have been cleared of our intruders. However, we had an incident in the hangar, three aircraft destroyed by an ill-aimed grenade, including Shego's!" Waller's report made Betty wince. "_Okay, if I keep her criminal status active, she can't sue us for damages! Yeah, right!" _Then she stared at Waller. "One grenade? All the aircraft are in separate bays, how did one grenade do that much harm?"

"Um, I'm told you would have to have seen it to believe it, Ma'am!"

Betty scowled suspiciously, "I hate to ask, but where is Ron Stoppable?"

"Level...four, Ma'am, in the cafeteria, in fact, why?"

"Oh, never mind, just made an unfair assumption, is all! How are we for personnel, can you tell?"

"Biometric chip readings indicate forty-five percent of our people are still active, Ma'am. Also, the Secretary of the Air Force has just departed by helicopter, along with his escort. Colonel Mandley is in the infirmary, Doctor Keyes is back in business. But, no one seems to know where Professor Dementor is, the medics who moved him were casualties later. He should still be sedated, but..."

"Wonderful! Probably stuffed in a closet somewhere! With his leg, he won't be much trouble, but get some people started on a search of likely places one can park a gurney out of sight. Next?" Betty turned to look at TV pictures from Go City playing on the monitors. The sound was off, but since a few reporters were relocating to street level, Betty guessed things were coming under control. "_With no help from us, which we'll never hear the end of, even with our own problems!"_

Brenda Core spoke up again. "Ma'am, we're getting reports from Pennsylvania, a place near Lake Erie, police report finding a number of injured men around an old summer camp. There was a large quantity of weapons and other military stores also discovered. Some of the survivors claim they were attacked by a monkey that kicked their butts, others aren't sure what hit them, they never saw their attacker! They say their leaders are all missing, though!"

Betty suppressed the urge to curse aloud. "Monty is still following the trail to whoever attacked him, but apparently not the Valeyard, but his human partner! Dammit! We need to find Willward before Monkeyfist does, if Monty has identified him!"

"I almost hope he finds him!" Ron Stoppable stated angrily, as he entered the room, "That nut case deserves to get a scare!"

"And what if Monty doesn't stop at scaring him? He killed down in Guyana, you know!" Betty replied sharply. Ron's belligerence diminished slightly, but he didn't reply. Rufus entered behind him, munching on a handful of nachos. "I see you managed to grab a snack between battles?" Betty asked, a trifle sarcastically.

"No, we grabbed one _after_ the battle!" Ron snapped back. Betty flinched, Ron winced, and they both tried to talk at once. "Sorry, I didn't mean..." "Ron, I'm sorry, I'm a bit..." They both stopped, grinned tiredly, and said "No Big!" in unison.

"Doctor Director, I have Geneva!" Core reported. "They're requesting a private line, fully secure!"

Betty winced. "That can't be good! Route the call to my office. I'm on my way there."

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Team Go was assembled near the main entrance to Gold Bluff Park, surrounded by several police officers and one or two news crews who had been the first to return to street level. The sun was nearly down, and the whole area was in shadow. For some reason the streetlights hadn't lit, and few people occupied the surrounding buildings at the moment. Some illumination came from a handful of police cars roving up and down the streets, shining spotlights down alleys and back streets, searching for any stray monsters. Plus, of course, the lights on the TV cameras now pointed at Hego.

In a nearby alley, GoGore was locked in a struggle. He sensed a shift in his personality again, and was striving to fight it off. "_Can't let it happen now! The others won't use him, they'll go back to their silly, indirect, scattershot plots, waste valuable time on Global Justice, when we need to concentrate on the bitches! NOT going to let you take over! I'm going to draw them here, and destroy them, NOW! All I need is to turn him loose on that buffoon! The Rani isn't the only one to know the weaknesses in these heroes' powers, And I engineered my best creation specifically to destroy...Shego, but he'll do just as well!"_

"Hego, now that the crisis is over, have you any idea who is behind this terrible assault on our citizens?" Months before, the reporter's colleagues would have rolled their eyes, expecting a formulaic reply from the none-too-bright hero, but lately he'd been far more entertaining in his responses. Gone was the trademark intake of breath before answering, the utterly noble expression, the condescending tone he sometimes affected.

"Well, Darleen, determining our foe's identity has never been our strong point, unless he presented him, or her, self at the scene of the crime, or left a highly visible clue to their identity." This frank statement made the reporters blink in collective surprise. "We will leave the identification to the Go City Police Department, though of course we will certainly assist in the apprehension of the villain, whenever his lair is located!"

This statement caused several Police officers to exchange startled looks. "You think he means it? You think he finally wised up?" One whispered to his partner, and received a baffled shrug in return.

"Do you have any comment on the scandalous attire BarberRosa was wearing earlier?" Asked another reporter. This question did cause some winces and eye-rolling from other members of the press, but more due to the ridiculousness of the question, then the anticipated answer. But Hego never gave whatever answer he formulated in his mind.

"I do believe you have been premature in labelling this crisis as 'over'!" Came a loud voice. Everyone turned to see GoGore strolling along the park's boundary fence. He wore black trousers and leather boots, but only suspenders above the waist. The red tattoos writhed over his slender but muscular upper body. His hands were empty, and he trailed one set of fingers along the iron bars of the fence as he approached.

Hego stepped forwards, studying the man. "And who might you be, and are you the fiend responsible for this madness?"

GoGore stopped, and frowned. "Fiend? Why didn't I think...well, too late now, I suppose, already chose my name, though I haven't made it legal yet, still time to change it! For the moment, however, I'll stay with GoGore!" He twitched, suddenly wincing. "Not giving in!" He shook his head violently, and looked up at the towering hero. "I did all this for a purpose, but my timing is off, can't seem to concentrate on the important stuff, you see, not entirely of one mind!" He paused, "That wasn't original, was it? No matter, not trying for points on originality, just points for bloodshed!"

"Well, you've done your worst, villain, and now it's time for Justice!" Hego declared, stepping towards his foe. Mego stepped forwards as well. "Maybe you should let me handle this, big guy, he's more my size!"

GoGore directed a pitying look at the purple hero. "Oh really? And does size always count? Oh, maybe for someone who can change it, perhaps!" "_Don't goad him! Your main defense is your visual displacement, a melee will expose it too soon!" _GoGore looked up at Hego, dismissing Mego, "My worst? Oh, no, not my worst, I assure you! I have what you'd call a second wave inbound as we speak, but you won't be here to see it, big man, I've brought a special playmate for you!" He turned and gestured towards the alley he'd been hidden in. "Again, I may lose points for originality, but allow me to present...DoomGo!"

All eyes turned to the alley mouth as a form emerged into the light. GoGore backed slowly away from Hego as attention left him. Policemen checked their weapons, making sure they had rounds chambered, and the press began to move slowly back across the street, keeping their cameras pointing towards the coming confrontation.

The creature revealed was a head shorter then Hego, but just as broad. It looked unfinished, in a way, lacking in detail, for want of a better description. It possessed a skeleton that was partly exposed, black in color, with a glossy sheen to it. It's flesh was pale blue, and had a waxy look. The visible parts of the skeleton included it's jaw, which ended in two short spikes jutting from it's chin, and a sharp-looking crest dividing it's face in half vertically, from crown to the top of it's upper lip. A row of spikes ran from it's neck to each shoulder. It's hands had a thumb and two fingers bracketing a long curved talon made of the black bone. It's legs were short and heavily muscled. Two yellow eyes glared out from it's face, focusing on Hego.

"Whoa!" Mego exclaimed, "That is one ugly..." He glanced up at Hego, who was returning an admonishing look, "..monster! Maybe we should take the easy way, big guy?" Without waiting for a reply, Mego raised the EMP weapon and let fly, to absolutely no effect. He shrugged, "Worth a try!"

Hego began to glow blue, maximizing his protection. "I'll deal with this, stand back!" And he began to advance on DoomGo.

0000000000

"We have to get there! We have to get there NOW!" Shego cried, looking at the image from Go City.

"I'm at my best speed, Shego, trust me!" Thundagirl replied. "I wish I could go faster, I truly do!"

"What about the drones?"

"Same drive type as I have, max speed set by Earth's gravity!"

Despite a feeling of foreboding of her own, Kim tried to calm Shego. Knowing the babies would be upset by their mothers' emotional state, Drakken took them back into the aft compartment.

"Ana, please, try not to worry, Hego's nearly invulnerable with his glow up!" Kim pleaded.

Shego turned a frantic expression to her. "_I_ know that, _you_ know that, and that red-striped bastard _knows _that! Yet there he stands! He knows something we don't, _I__...just...know...__IT__!_"

"I hate to agree, but I think Shego's right." Charley said, quietly. "T-Girl! Any sign you can detect of this 'second wave?'"

"Nothing in the sky, Charley! Almost close enough to get a good picture of the ground situation!"

0000000000

As Hego advanced, DoomGo broke into a rush to meet him, arms spread wide, talons pointed forwards. Hego increased his pace, rushing to a collision. The two slammed together and halted, muscles straining. Hego held both of DoomGo's wrists wide away from his body, and as usual had his chin thrust out, determination on his face. Someone got a picture at just that moment, both foes face-to-face, hero and monster. Then DoomGo flexed his legs, pulling Hego slightly forward, and launched himself into a massive head-butt, his crest driving right through the blue glow and into Hego's face.

A sickening crunch sounded through the streets. Hego's head flew back, blood spraying, and his grip on DoomGo's wrists was broken. The monster promptly swung his arms wide, then drove the talons into both sides of the stricken hero's ribcage. Hego went limp, and for a moment was only held up by DoomGo. Then the monster pulled his talons out, and the hero fell to the ground.

"NO!" ripped from twin throats, and DoomGo was assailed by a horde of Wegos, swarming over him, trying to literally rip him apart. And failing miserably. He plucked them off and tore them apart, and though they weren't flesh and blood, the sight was sickening to behold. The feedback built up in the two flesh and blood Wegos until they couldn't take it any more, and both collapsed.

Ignoring Hego, who was still twitching, DoomGo advanced on the fallen twins.

0000000000

At the moment of his triumph, GoGore lost his battle for control of his body. He began to shift, and frantically punched several buttons on a small box he plucked from his pocket. A brief burst of white light heralded his departure, leaving his creature to it's work.

0000000000

The Synthetic Master watched the battle on a monitor in the hideout, though he didn't see GoGore's exit. "Ah, if only someone had just decided to shoot him! Not that they'd have hit him, of course!" Then he paused, sensing something, a presence in the room. After a moment, a slow smile spread over his face. "I believe you're looking for your trapped kindred, am I right?" He addressed the room at large. He received no reply, but continued anyway. "I believe we can make a deal, you and I, and both get what we want most!"

0000000000

Mego blasted DoomGo again with Electronique's weapon on it's highest setting, causing it to short out, but having no effect on the monster at all. Tossing the useless device away, he knelt and picked up one of his brothers. A police Sergeant had the other, and both men moved as fast as they could away from the now charging monster.

People were turning to flee the scene all around them, when another disturbance began. Manhole covers were suddenly hurled into the air, and hideous creatures began to clamber out of the sewers. They were identical to those who had emerged from the SIDRAT in Middleton, looking like something out of a video game. A SWAT officer blew the head off one with his shotgun, only to see the familiar sight of two fiber-optic lines retracting into the remaining body, which began to reform. As he chambered a fresh round, a black spike shot from the creature, passing right through the officer's flak vest and into his chest.

Faced with this new horror, Mego and the Sergeant stopped, then turned to see DoomGo almost on top of them, a bestial roar suddenly bursting from it's throat.

And then the night turned green.

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Please, Read and Review


	31. The Night Go City Bled, Part II

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

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**Two (relative) weeks previously...**

Shortly after arriving in the sphere, Ron had discovered an unusual strategy game for three players. For reasons unknown, it had appealed greatly to all the male members of the group, and not a bit to any of the females. So, practically every day, Ron, Rufus, and Doctor Drakken would end up locked in conflict for at least two hours after training was over. This gave the women a chance to go and do things without worrying about any of the boys intruding on them.

At the moment, that consisted of sunbathing, at the opposite end of their little island from the house. All save Kim were currently stretched out face down in a row across the sands of the beach. Kim, who had ridden to the spot on a small automated cart, was currently sitting under an awning, the babies flanking her, both asleep at the moment. Kim wasn't happy about the necessity of the ride, or not being able to join the others under the sun. But, she knew better then to ignore doctor's orders, under any circumstances.

She and Charley had both been off the island for medical treatment, but neither had clear memories of the trip, thanks to the strictures on their exposure to the advanced society that was hosting them. Charley had gone first, two weeks earlier, and Kim two days before. "_Advanced medicine! You'd think that would have cut down on the recovery time! I hate being inactive now, of all times!" _She thought sourly as she gazed out at the sea. _"Not that I'd necessarily be sharing this activity, heh."_

Just then JJ raised her head and regarded Kim curiously, before asking, "Um, if it's not prying, is your prognosis the same as Charley's, Kim?"

Kim made a face, and shook her head. "No, not really." She sighed, "They told me not to plan on a large family. But, if I'm very careful, I can probably carry at least one, maybe two, healthy babies to term."

Shego raised her head to study Kim, a serious expression on her face. Kim began to show a little apprehension, until Shego smiled and said, "Nice to have the option, isn't it, Princess?"

Kim hesitated, then replied with a smile "Yes!" but then she frowned, "But, now I'm scared, because I'd have to be _really_ careful, practically from the day I conceived, and even then, I could still miscarry! And I'm not sure how I'd take losing a baby."

"Then, we'll have to be very careful, if you decide to have one, that's all." Shego replied, in a matter-of-fact tone. "Don't stress out about it now, Pumpkin."

Kim kept her eyes locked with Shego's for a moment, then nodded. She reached into her carryall, and pulled out a book, and a pair of 'translator' eyeglasses. They looked liked 'granny' glasses, and automatically translated whatever language she was reading. She smiled as she looked at them. A few nights earlier, she and Shego had been sitting up in bed, reading, each with a pair on, as well as the nightgowns Ron had had made for them. Kim had suddenly looked up and caught sight of their reflection, and nearly fallen out of bed laughing at the image. They really had looked the image of an old married couple in bed together.

"Okay, guys, what do we work on tomorrow?" JJ asked.

"KAPgun practice!" Shego replied, and was rewarded with several loud groans. The KAPguns had been made locally for them, and allowed them to fire either of four types of energy bolt, Electromagnetic, Kinetic, Thermal, or Neurostatic, with the power level adjustable. It vaguely resembled a revolver, rotating four different 'foci' in front of a power emitter to select their choices.

"Why? Ron's the only one who's accuracy is still low!" Beth replied, "Besides, I didn't think you liked that name for the guns?"

"I don't, but will that stop Belle and Ron from calling them that?" Shego snorted, "A gun named for a children's show, now that's nuts!"

"Kapitan Augustus Prince, Champion of the People!" JJ smirked, "We're probably lucky Belle only saw four episodes of it! It was propaganda, anyway, trying to get kids on that world interested in guns, and the military, at an early age!"

"It was funny!" Belle retorted, as her sister winced, "I mean, it was just a cartoon, that's all! Not like our guns can do what his could, after all!"

"Then why suggest it for a name, Belle?" JJ asked. "Or rather, use it as an inspiration?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Shego cut in, "Never mind that! It isn't accuracy some of us need work on, it's changing the settings on the fly, especially in a combat sitch!"

"Oh! Yeah, I guess some of us do need some practice on that!" Belle replied, "I mean, I did sort of push the power selector switch the wrong way that last time."

Beth snorted, "Ya think? Level ten Kinetic bolt, when you needed a five Neurostatic? Yep, that was a big mistake! Of course, my problem is, you missed the target, and hit me instead! If it hadn't been VR..."

"All Right, All Right! I know I screwed up! We all made mistakes, though! Even Charley messed up when she was first using them!"

"Calm down!" Kim snapped, in a sharp, low tone. "You're waking the babies!"

Both sisters immediately became contrite, as Shego's head snapped up to check the little ones out herself. After a moment or two, things quieted down again. It was several minutes later that Kim broke the silence. "Time to roll over, ladies, I think you're done on that side!"

"I think one thing we're going to miss about Thundagirl in her new body is the ramp." Beth observed as she rolled over, "The SmartyWorld rescue would have been a lot harder without it."

"Yeah, but we would have found a way." Belle responded, "My question is, how do we explain her changed appearance when we get back? To the public, I mean?"

"If we have to explain it, we'll say that the original body was a a test platform, or one that would attract less attention if seen during tests." Charley answered, but with a doubtful look onher face.

"Speaking of getting back," JJ remarked, then tilted her head back to look at Kim, "Kim, when we get back, after we've beaten the Valeyard, what's the first thing you're going to do?"

"Call Monique." Kim replied. That drew several curious looks. "I mean, she's my best friend, and I haven't given a thought to her until this morning. I mean I didn't call her when I had the opportunity! Sometimes I realize how many people I take for granted, and it ticks me off at myself!"

JJ nodded. "I got you." she turned to look at Charley, "How about you, Charley, you going to talk more to Ron about your 'relationship'?"

The response was abrupt, and slightly miffed. "There is no 'relationship', JJ! Except in _my_ memory, so it's not fair to expect Ron to feel the same way he did in that world, it just isn't!" angrily, Charley got to her feet and stalked away towards the surf. Behind her, the others exchanged looks.

"We set for tonight, guys?" Beth asked quietly.

Shego snorted, "Think you helped get her in the mood, there, JJ?"

JJ grinned, "As long as Ron does his part, things will work out great, trust me!" She looked at Shego, "How about you, Shego? First thing when you get home, when we're done with the Valeyard?"

Shego lay back, looking up at the sky. "If and when, you mean? Go see my brothers. And apologize for some of the things I've done. Not everything, mind you, just some things! I need to talk to the twins, and Warren, but especially Henry! I have to explain a few things, from how we ended up a family, to how and why I really left them."

"How you became a family?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, I pretty much brought us together, but not necessarily for the right reasons! When Mrs Waring died, I thought I needed another protector for me and the twins. I chose Henry, because he was big and strong, and I guess because he wouldn't assume I wanted anything else from him." she blushed slightly, "Warren I felt sorry for, but I also thought that he'd distract the bullies from the twins. They liked picking on him, because he took it."

"But you cared about them, didn't you?"

"I cared about the twins, obviously! I'd taken care of them since I was eight and they were six months old. I didn't really care about the other two, at first. But, after a while, yeah, I started caring about them. Even when Hego would let me down, I found myself forgiving him, and not sure why I was. Even though he was so exasperating, so bone-headed, sometimes...yeah, I cared about the big lug, and it's about time I said so, to his face!"

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Charley and JJ caught Shego as her knees gave out, eyes wide with horror as she stared at the image coming from Go City. Kim hurriedly passed Amy to Drakken, then knelt and hugged the distraught woman as she sank to her knees.

The TV pictures shifted away from the bloody hero as fast as the studio producers could manage, some channels faster then others. The bloody nature of Hego's defeat had caught them all off guard.

Letting go of Shego's arm as Kim took hold of her, Charley began giving orders. "T-Girl, head directly there! Find a rooftop to drop Kim, Doctor Drakken, and the babies off on, then we're going in! Everyone set their KAPguns to EM, for those black creatures, we'll have to decide how to deal with that big one when we get down!"

"Get it in an open area and stand back, and I'll deal with it!" Thundagirl snapped, "We'll see how it likes me sitting on it!"

"No." Shego's voice was flat and cold, "He's mine!" Kim drew back, startled by the sudden transformation, a worried look on her face.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Shego!" Charley replied, "From what we saw, this thing may be immune to your glow powers!"

"Then I'll just have to do it the old-fashioned way!" Shego carefully disengaged herself from Kim and stood, throwing off her robe and activating her armor as she did. "T-Girl! Ready one of the drones, I'm going in!" She looked Kim in the eyes, while addressing the Team at large. "Put my girls somewhere safe, then come join the party, guys!"

"Boss?" Thundagirl asked. Charley almost spoke, but held off. Kim kept her gaze locked with Shego's for a moment, then nodded, "Do it!" Moments later the port hatch slid back, as the armored panel forward of it swung out to form a windbreak. One of the drones then slid into place alongside, and Shego stepped carefully onto it, then lay down flat. She looked one last time at Kim and the babies before calling "Ready!". The drone dropped downwards as the hatch slid shut, cutting off Kim's view of her. Then the girl turned to Charley. "Keep her alive, please?"

Charley nodded emphatically in return. "We will!" She assured Kim.

Shego had learned that it took very little energy to make the plasma 'flare' power shine brightly, but she gave it a little extra as she swept in over the scene of the fight. The green flash overwhelmed all the other light sources below, drawing the eyes of everyone present, even the Valeyard's creatures. DoomGo's gaze locked onto Shego, the green power display triggering a programmed response in it's mind. Here was it's primary target, nothing else now mattered. It turned away from it's intended prey, and stalked towards the descending drone.

Shego jumped off the drone ten feet up, and hit the ground striding towards the monster. "No, Shego! He's too strong!" Mego shouted, but Shego didn't reply, just continued her advance. DoomGo matched her pace, apparently having a different strategy for dealing with the nimble thief, as opposed to her brother.

At twenty paces, Shego launched a compact ball of plasma into the monster's chest. It had no effect, barely causing a hitch in it's stride. "Had to try! Down to basics, I guess!" She muttered, and launched herself forward. She summoned her power, but kept it internalized, powering her muscles. She couldn't sustain it that way like Hego could, but it gave her at least one good punch. She just had to use it well.

DoomGo stopped as Shego lunged, and launched his right talon in a sweeping strike, while bringing the left one up in a hook in case Shego ducked the right. But somehow, neither connected, Shego almost impossibly halting her lunge and swaying back as the right swished past, then sidestepping the upward hooking left as she drove her left fist into DoomGo's right eye, and then launched herself into a spin kick.

The impact in his eye caused DoomGo to react by covering it with his right palm, his fingers and talon extending across his facial crest. Shego's kick crushed those digits against the crest, and DoomGo howled in pain as the talon snapped off clean, and both fingers shattered, while part of the crest itself also broke away. Shego felt a sharp pain in her foot, but ignored it as she landed and launched her right hand into a palm strike to DoomGo's chin.

The monster's jaw was distended as he howled, and the blow dislocated it violently. One of his chin spikes penetrated Shego's glove armor, however, gouging deeply into her palm, but she again ignored the pain and brought up her left fist, wrapped in a tight ball of plasma, and shoved it into the monster's throat, before unleashing all the summoned power.

Even as she did, some instinct made her pull back her fist. The top of DoomGo's head disappeared in a flash of green, but in the midst of the green was a brighter flash of white light. Agony shot through Shego's arm, emanating from her left hand, and she couldn't suppress a scream of pain. "_Cortical Bomb, just like those creatures DNAmy made for him in the other world!"_ Staggering back, she looked at her left hand. Her glove was still intact. "_At least I didn't blow half my hand off, this time! But I'll bet most of the bones are broken, if not worse!" _

She then looked at DoomGo's still upright corpse, which swayed, but hadn't toppled. "_Be just my luck if that bastard put some kind of back-up system in his monster!"_ But after a moment longer, the monster's knees buckled, and it collapsed. Shego let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"Shego! Look out!" Mego cried from somewhere behind her. White energy flared around the armor plates on the back of her shoulders as one of the pseudo-demons landed a raking blow. As she turned, ignoring the pain in her injured foot, it struck again, aiming for her face. The force field protecting her head activated, blurring her view. She formed the twin plasma claws from her right hand, and slashed the thing across the chest. One of the claws cut through the control box within. Unlike the dinosaurs, which had 'melted', these monsters shattered into shards when they died, though the flying pieces lacked the force to do serious injury.

But like the dinos, they apparently recognized the greatest threats to their existence, and a goodly number of them suddenly decided Shego was that threat. A flood of the creatures suddenly rushed out of a nearby subway station and converged on her, as she tried to set herself for the fight. Plasma flared from her right hand, EM amped to maximum, and flew unerringly to strike monster after monster. "Mego! Grab this gun on my hip! Make sure the number in the top readout is 'Two', and the lower is at least 'Five'! If they are, start shooting!"

But even if Mego got involved, Shego didn't like the odds. Of course, she was expecting them to change.

"CANNONBALL!" Bellowed Thundagirl. And she landed on top of nine of the bunched together monsters, hard. With one injured foot, Shego had trouble staying upright when the ground shook beneath her, even though the sentient ship had landed ten yards away.

The monsters' priority promptly shifted to T-Girl, not intimidated by her greater size. They swarmed towards her from all directions. Her port side hatch slid back, and Team Possible came out to meet them. Charley and JJ took the center, with the twins covering the flanks, keeping T-Girl at their backs. Five KAPguns, two in JJ's hands, began spitting out white bolts of Electromagnetic energy, dropping one monster for each hit.

When the press of monsters got too close, JJ switched to two of the mimetic weapons in swords form, while the other three girls were already wielding one each as maces in combination with their pistols. The maces actually seemed more effective, shattering the more brittle creatures, but JJ was just too stubborn to switch. The coordination in the four girls' movements was uncanny, as if each could see what the others could. In point of fact, that was a close approximation of the truth.

Shego had to tell Mego how to adjust the settings on the KAPgun he took off her, while picking off monsters herself. Not all had gone after T-Girl, but as their casualties mounted around her, more and more broke away from other targets to rush Team Possible.

Eight monsters were attacking Thundagirl on her starboard side, trying to make an impression on her hull, and only doing damage to themselves. "Clearing the rear, girls, just a sec!" The ship announced. She then rose high enough to clear the curb, and slid sideways, sweeping the eight monsters hard against the park boundary fence. Five were destroyed, while the control boxes in the other three survived, but all suffered the loss of most of their substance. These monsters began to reform, but they apparently took longer to do so then the dinosaurs had due to being formed from more rigid material.

Thundagirl slid right back to her original position, catching two monsters trying to flank the girls and sending them flying. Another creature tried something new, vaulting on to the back of another and then springing off, trying to land behind the girls. But the drone Shego had ridden, controlled remotely by Thundagirl, swept in and slammed it away, carrying it along to crush against a fire escape, shattering it.

On the rooftop of a four story building overlooking the fight, Kim grit her teeth as she watched the battle. She held Amy in her arms, while Drakken carried Milly. Roy and Ben orbited around them "I should have at least thought to take a KAPgun, I would be able to help, even from up here!" She growled.

"Erm, Kimberley?" Kim turned. Drakken carefully balanced Milly in one arm, and used his free hand to tug his coattail up, to reveal the butt of a KAPgun sticking out of his large pants pocket. "Just in case!" Drakken said apologetically.

Shaking her head slightly, Kim handed Amy to the scientist, and tugged the gun out. As she checked the settings, she grimaced. "_Well, no turning back now, Kim Possible is going hot!"_

Stepping up to the parapet, Kim studied the melee below. She had paid no attention to the neighboring rooftops. On one, two stories above her, two TV news crews had taken post. Even though one was now directing it's lens, and light, towards her, she didn't pay it any mind. Unfortunately, three of the creatures had also seen the lights, and were climbing that building to reach their source.

Kim picked a target, and taking a two-handed grip, aimed carefully and fired, scoring a direct hit. But she was distracted by the sight of another one leaping down from the wall of another building it had been scaling across the way. "Oh, Snap, Doctor D, these things can climb!"

"I _had_ noticed that, Kimberley!" The panicked note in his voice caused Kim to turn. Though originally attracted by the camera lights, the monsters' attention had been drawn by the discharge of Kim's weapon, and they had leaped the gap from the side of the fifth floor of the adjacent building to the roof of Kim's.

Kim swept the KAPgun up and fired, while trying to move sideways and interpose herself between the monsters and her daughters. She scored a hit, just as her foot hit a soft spot in the roofing, and caught on some kind of obstruction.

She staggered and fell, nevertheless scoring a second hit and bringing the second monster down. She hit hard on one shoulder, while snapping off a third, desperation shot, even as the last monster reached striking range and swung one claw at her. The claw stirred her bangs, even as the shot struck home, and she had to shield her eyes from the shards as the monster broke up.

Kim's stumble and fall had unintentionally reinforced the impression of her frailty, from the viewpoint of the TV crews, though she had hardly planned it. But as she recovered her composure following the attack, she noted the cameras for the first time, and consciously made an effort to appear to struggle to regain her feet.

"Are you all right, Kimberley?" Drakken asked worriedly. She nodded. "I'm fine, Doctor D. Can you hold the girls yourself a bit longer?"

"Of Course!" he replied. Kim nodded, and went back to the parapet, rubbing her shoulder and affecting a slight limp.

One of the creatures T-Girl had smashed into the boundary fence had reformed, though now it stood under a meter tall. It rushed around the ship's nose, and then tried the same sort of leaping attack it's larger brethren had attempted earlier. As it leaped from the shoulders of one of the larger creatures, however, it appeared to stop in mid air, and fly back the way it had come. Then it stopped, still airborne. Saul uncloaked, eyes glowing, his gaze focused on the monster. Then he spun quickly in place, and the monster was smashed into the side of T-Girl, breaking pieces off it. Saul repeated the slam, and the second one proved fatal for his victim.

The monster's numbers began to thin dramatically. Charley and the girls began to advance in a wedge towards the spot where Shego and Mego stood over the still unconscious Wegos. Charley dropped into the center of the wedge, eturning her melee weapon to it's 'neutral' configuration and sheathing it, while activating her bracer as Fred uncloaked over Hego's prostrate form. Two city paramedics, protected by two well-armed Federal Marshals, were trying to treat the fallen hero. A monster suddenly emerged from a nearby alley and rushed them.

These monsters, however, weren't as bulletproof as the dinosaurs had been. Bullet impacts chipped away at them, though it took a lot of hits to seriously damage them, depending on the power of the rounds hitting them. Both Marshals were armed with shotguns loaded with deer slugs, and these took big chunks out of the charging monster, as well as slowing it down with their impacts. They stood their ground, and were rewarded when one's shot exposed the control box in the monster's chest, and his partner hit it with his next round.

The two paramedics, one a gray-haired twenty-five year veteran, the other a young Hispanic woman, did their best to ignore all the commotion, as they concentrated on their patient, their looks grim.

"You hate being up here while they're down there, don't you, Kim?" The voice startled Kim, who snapped her head around to see a woman pointing a hand-held webcam at her.

Caught off guard, Kim decided to just tell the truth. "Yes, I do! That's my team down there, I should be with them!" Recovering, she prepared to cut off the interview, but the woman didn't ask her any more questions.

But instead the reporter turned her attention to the turmoil below, looking particularly at Shego fighting over the bodies of her fallen brothers. After a few moments, she commented, "She cares about them far more then she ever liked to let on, you know?" Kim's startled look caused the woman to smile. "I knew them in the orphanage. My name is Lia Espartero, pleased to meet you. And yes, I'm a reporter, for a Webnews service." She looked downwards again, this time at Hego's body. "I hope...he's very tough, isn't he? He can survive this, can't he?"

Kim's eyes were on Shego. "I hope so!" "_For her sake, as well as his!"_

The area below suddenly was devoid of monsters, as the last fell to a shot from Mego. Gunfire still echoed, however, from nearby alleys and streets, as well as the subway. "JJ, watch my back, please! Belle, Beth, see if you can help anywhere else, but be careful!" Charley barked out orders, as she rushed over to Hego. Shego limped after her, but suddenly the pain in both hands and her right foot became unbearable, and she dropped to one knee. A camera crew caught an image of her face, tears pouring down her cheeks, and not just from pain, as her eyes locked on her fallen brother.

On the rooftop, Kim spoke into her Kimmunicator. "T-Girl, come up and get me down there, Please and Thank You!" As she started to turn towards Drakken to tell him they were descending, she suddenly spotted something. Something that had been on the periphery of her consciousness for some time, but hadn't taken priority in her concerns.

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed softly. Beyond the park, and across the dark waters of the Bay, she could see Go Tower. And the image of the pillar of fire superimposed over it, translucent, but clearly visible.

Drakken stepped up beside her. "I think things are coming to a head, Kimberley, we may have little time to find our foe and deal with him!" He said quietly.

Before Kim could formulate a reply, Thundagirl rose into sight before them, then slid over the parapet enough for them to board. Kim took Amy back from Drakken, then turned to enter the ship. Then, on impulse, she turned to Lia. "Want a ride down?" She asked the reporter. Briefly startled, the woman nodded, and hurried aboard.

A paramedic was examining the Wegos, and Mego was alongside Shego, who was trying to push herself to her feet, but somehow not finding the strength, eyes still locked on Hego. Kim came limping up, and handed Amy to a surprised Mego, who was even more surprised when Roy zipped up and began studying him with a critical eye.

Shego's gaze shifted to meet Kim's as the redhead knelt before her and reached to touch her face. "It's going to hurt bad, Kimmie." She muttered.

Kim gave her a gentle smile, "That's okay, it won't hurt long!" She clenched her jaw, and took Shego's face in her hands. Her breath hissed out through her teeth, and she squeezed her eyes shut as the pain hit her, causing her to sway slightly. Shego felt the pain redouble briefly, then begin to fade in her foot and right hand. In her left hand, however, the pain flared, apparently as her bones realigned themselves properly. After what seemed like forever, but was closer to three minutes, all the pain was gone. She steadied Kim, who was leaning limply against her, then shot to her feet and headed towards Hego's body. He was being picked up and carried towards T-Girl by six men, with the female paramedic walking alongside holding an IV Bottle that was feeding into the fallen hero's right arm. Charley stood where Hego had fallen, still studying her bracer, as she received readouts from Fred and Saul, who were checking some of the other fallen.

"Is he going to make it, Charley?" Shego asked the girl, anxiously.

Charley gave her a sympathetic look. "Both lungs are punctured, but they seem to be healing, but his head wound...Shego, his brain is damaged, I don't know if he can heal that, even with his power, I'm really sorry." The sincerity in her voice drew a nod from the stricken woman. Charley looked past Shego, where both Wegos were being placed on stretchers, then addressed the woman gently, "Take Kim and the girls to the hospital, see to your brothers, we'll clean up here." Shego nodded slowly, then turned to see the Wegos being loaded on Thundagirl**.** Her distraction vanished, and she hurried towards the ship.

Kim watched her go, then started towards the ship herself. Mego followed, Amy still in his arms, the little girl staring at this stranger who carried her intently, still not having decided how to take him. Roy trailed along, but kept spinning to study their surroundings curiously.

Charley gazed around at the carnage dejectedly. Her eyes eventually were drawn to the sight of Go Tower, and her look hardened. She turned to JJ. "Let's go, the night's not over!" The pair hurried towards the nearest source of gunfire.

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The Valeyard had reverted to his Edward Dray persona. The change had been unusually traumatic, probably because of GoGore's prolonged resistance to it.

Now, he emerged unsteadily from the abandoned house where he'd hidden the beacon for his emergency transmat device. It was located on the south side of the bay, close to the campus of Go City University.

Turning to look towards the city, he too was startled to see the ghostly image surrounding Go Tower. He could guess what it represented, from the memories of his last incarnation, before he had used the Time Ring to escape the doomed Tower.

"_I still don't understand how it failed! Shego abandoned Charley Cob and her girls at the foot of the tower, to try and reach me personally. But, I had a surprise for her when she arrived, Armand Macheles! I'd used him already to make Hego lose control of his temper, and Mego his jealousy, breaking Team Go up and discrediting them! And he dealt with Shego as well, turning all her rage into self-loathing, having her just stand there and let my minions beat her, cripple her!"_

He still remembered the moment when triumph had turned to defeat. He'd been looking down at the fallen thief, gloating. "_You deserted your allies, and now they've paid for it! And now you're crippled, O Mighty Shego! Tell me, who's going to save you now?"_ And the thief had looked up at him and replied, "Kim Possible!" Which was nonsense, the girl hadn't gotten involved in his affairs since her disastrous 'comeback' at the ski lodge. So, he'd just looked down pityingly at his victim. "_That's hardly likely now, is it?"_ And she'd looked right back at him, fire in her eyes. "That wasn't a guess, dirtbag!"

The sound of a blow had made him spin, to see Macheles tumbling down the catwalk steps, unconscious. And Kim Possible, scarred but defiant, standing at the top, a police riot gun in her hands. Though she'd trained long and hard to relearn her fighting skills to compensate for the disabilities her injuries had left her with, she'd have never survived against the three wolf men he had in the Control Room at the time. (A fourth had been blown into the main view screen by Shego, when he falsely insinuated he'd eaten one of the Wegos. which had also nearly broken Macheles' hold on her.)

Kim had gotten two of his servants with the shotgun, and the third had concentrated so much on Possible that he'd forgotten Shego. Without Macheles' influence, she'd regained control of herself quickly, enough to blast the last wolf man as he tried to hide under the catwalk, attempting to lure Kim downstairs.

After that, the only thing he clearly remembered was launching a miniature seeker rocket at Kim, which she somehow dodged, then delivered a kick that sent him crashing into the catwalk support. Shego had then blasted the whole thing down on him. To add insult to injury, the rocket had flown into his TARDIS and exploded, causing catastrophic damage.

He didn't remember Charley Cob's arrival, or how they'd manage to bring down the shield protecting his device, having been unconscious during that time. He did remember the device Charley had built and divined it's purpose, before he'd escaped.

"_Only to try and implement the same plan over again, but this time getting the things I needed together sooner, as soon as I could safely get my extant self out of the way! But Macheles died, I couldn't get Drakken's anti-matter formula, and then the Tempusite was put beyond my reach! And in the end, my alliance with the Ar'Ithane was a needless risk! Damn that interfering..." _He regained control of himself, and gazed at the pillar of fire again. "_But now my arrogant irresponsibility may destroy mankind. The trouble is, I'm no longer certain that that is what I even want! No matter, I have no way to avoid it now, so I'd best make the most of it!"_

He started along the shore, headed towards the dock where he had hidden a small motorboat. "_My synthetic Master's lifespan has passed, I'd better see what he accomplished while the barbarian was in charge!"_

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The last shots in the fighting were fired at 2:17 AM. By that time, the death toll had passed one hundred, with more than four hundred additional injuries. TV news coverage was continuous, with broadcasts being seen nationwide throughout, as well as overseas in some countries.

Help had begun arriving rather belatedly. Ron Stoppable was delivered to the city by a GJ aircraft just before midnight, and he'd gone immediately to join Charley and the girls as they helped hunt down the remaining monsters.

A small group of superheroes from other cities had shown up shortly afterwards. Though none of them were true heavy-hitters, they also pitched in on the sweeps, and generally ignored mocking comments about their tardiness, mostly from civilians, who were starting to emerge from their homes and hiding places.

Several unmarked helicopters arrived at one AM, and off-loaded groups of men and women dressed in black body armor, and carrying ridiculously large weapons. No one asked them who they were, or where they came from, as they proceeded into the subways and sewers. They were all gone again by 2:30 AM, having found little left for them to do.

Looters and souvenir hunters, as well as amateur and professional videographers made nuisances of themselves starting practically from the moment the fighting at Gold Bluff Park had ended, as if that signaled the end of danger. Many had found out differently the hard way, before the police could round them up.

The Mayor, accompanied by more of the Press, ventured into the area at about three, visiting several sights where the fighting had been heavy, before he proceeded to GC Presbyterian Hospital, where Hego had been taken. He didn't make a single speech, or respond to any questions, appearing to be deeply shaken by what he saw. Cynics called it an act, but many weren't so sure. For all his manipulation of Team Go for his political advantage, he did feel responsible for encouraging Hego's dreams. And now he faced the final consequences of those actions, and it did bother him greatly.

Inspector Ball saw the sun rise from his forward command post, before he also proceeded to tour the hospitals, both to check on Hego, and to see the officers of his force that had been injured in the fighting.

And so the night ended.

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Please, Read and Review.


	32. Dawn brings no comfort

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

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At just past five, with the sky lightening in the East, Thundagirl had settled down in the parking lot of a newly finished but unoccupied office building two blocks from the Presbyterian Hospital. She'd scanned every inch of the sewers and subways, as well as above ground, for any sign of surviving monsters. None had been located, though she had found a pair of life signs in the walk-in refrigerator of a restaurant, one weakening. It turned out to be a father and son, the former mauled by a raptor early in the attacks, and kept alive by his son's first aid skills after they had escaped into the fridge. Unfortunately, there had been no means of opening the door from the inside, the lever having been broken for some time. Paramedics had been able to stabilize the father and get him to an Emergency Room.

Charley and the girls trudged towards the sentient ship, looking thoroughly worn out. Ron had gone to see how Kim and Shego were doing, after a few quiet words with Charley. A lack of privacy had kept the two from doing more then talk. Now the quartet, accompanied by several law enforcement officers, were heading to the ship for some rest, if possible.

Reporters trailed after them. The big networks were revving up their big morning shows back east, and many wanted some kind of sound bite or interview from someone on Team Possible for broadcast. Most of those present, however, were as tired as the girls. The temperature had barely dropped below eighty all night, and the humidity had risen uncomfortably.

But one crew was relatively fresh, and got ahead of the foursome and between them and the ship. The reporter, a former star athlete locally, wiped sweat from her brow before stepping into Charley's path. "Excuse me, Team Possible? Can you tell us anything that would help our audience understand yesterday's events?"

Charley stopped, regarding her wearily. Then she nodded grudgingly. "Well, as long as you understand we don't have the resources the government has to verify what we've heard, so this may not be as accurate as we'd like."

She deliberately waited for a verbal acknowledgment as other cameras came to bear, as their crews caught up. The reporter she had addressed nodded, "I understand, you may not have the whole story, is that right?"

Charley hesitated, then nodded, "I'd rather say, we have a bit of supposition mixed in with our facts, and we're not sure which is which for certain, right now! Anyway, here's what we believe. As you know, there has been increasing indications that extraterrestrials have in fact been visiting Earth, with mixed intentions towards man. Now, apparently, one race attempted to contact man sometime last year, making the attempt through a single individual, a scientist of no particular distinction up to that point. I'm withholding his name, at the request of the authorities." Charley tried to look apologetic about that fact. "Anyway, however the aliens made their choice, they made a bad one in the end. Though originally believed to be a law-abiding individual, this man had suffered some sort of personal tragedy that embittered him towards his fellow man. He gained the aliens' trust, at least briefly, and gained some of their secrets, as well, before they became mistrustful of him, and broke off contact."

"Because his knowledge was incomplete, he was loath to use the Aliens' knowledge at first, at least not too much of it. He implemented a plan to punish all of humanity for whatever had befallen him. He attracted the attention of several agencies, but his reputation, and his eccentric behavior, caused them to dismiss him as a threat. Fortunately, one of those agencies brought him to Kim's attention, and she stopped his plan. But ironically, she didn't know how serious it was, because his behavior fooled her, too."

"How serious a threat was it?" The reporter who had originally stopped the girls glared, as she was beaten to the question by another reporter.

Charley heaved a sigh before replying, "Truthfully? It really could have resulted in extinction for humanity." She paused to let that sink in, before continuing, "I know that sounds melodramatic, but in this case, it was actually true. Now, the man disappeared at the time, and exactly how he did it is the subject of some debate, and I'm afraid I can't shed any light on the matter. Anyway, he escaped, and tried a different approach."

"He began experimenting with the things he'd learned from the aliens, recklessly in some cases, causing some dangerous phenomena to occur. He attracted the attention of a previously unknown villain, who you saw last night, the one responsible for the creatures who attacked this city yesterday."

"Why did he chose Go City?" The female reporter asked.

Charley shrugged, "I'll get to that in a moment, let me tell this my way, if you please. They gained a third ally, a military man, who it turns out was a leftover sleeper agent from the Cold War. And then that individual tricked another man into joining and providing funds, by using state-of-the-art Virtual Reality technology to convince the man that he had traveled into the future, and seen a world where man had stopped worshiping God, in favor of minor celebrities, including, oddly, Kim Possible!" Charley grinned, "Imagine that!" She noted some frowns, and hoped some of her audience were connecting the right dots. "Not sure if there were any other conspirators, but that's not our concern, it's the other authorities'. Anyway, he thus received funding, access to classified information, and someone willing to do dirty work for him, and proceeded with his plan. He tried to kill Kim Possible, by infecting her with a deadly disease, for which there was no approved treatment. But, that didn't stop some surprising people from circumventing the laws to save her. Whether there will be fallout from their actions, I can't guess. Ironically, they brought Kim into contact with Elizabeth Reithan, who assumed that Kim was after her, and that led to events Kim told you about before."

Charley now became grim. "At the moment, the consequences of the scientist's reckless experimentation are beginning to manifest themselves. What will happen? I have no idea, sorry. The attacks yesterday were partly a distraction, though I'm not sure if that wasn't just an excuse on the part of 'GoGore' to create mayhem. He may also have an ulterior, personal motive for his attack." she paused, wiping sweat from her forehead, and trying to suppress a yawn. "Now, I'm sorry, but we need some rest, we need to be ready if and when things start happening again, please?"

Several reporters began to speak, but a GCPD Lieutenant stepped in front of Charley with both hands raised in a 'stop' signal. "She means it, Ladies and Gentlemen, these four need rest, as do many of us! They helped us with the monsters, and the looters and souvenir hunters afterwards, now I think they deserve a break!"

One of the reporters took the hint, and turned his attention to the Lieutenant. "Did I hear correctly, Lieutenant? That some guy was planning to break up the pavement with Hego's bloodstains on it, and sell the pieces online?" Welcoming the distraction, the girls slipped past the crowd. Thundagirl opened her port side hatch for them, and closed it as soon as they were inside.

Charley's shoulders slumped as soon as they were secure. "Damn!" She muttered.

JJ snorted, "Maybe you ought to go into politics, Charley, you can sure spin a tale!"

"It's not funny, JJ!" Charley snapped, then covered her eyes as she swayed on her feet. "Sorry!"

JJ put an arm around her. "No Big, we're all so tired! Must be 'Time Lag', or something, what do you think?"

The four girls opened a locker, and pulled out what appeared to be four futons, which they unrolled on the deck. They were actually much more, but that wasn't important for the moment. Keeping their armor on, but deactivating the plates, they all laid down. All but Charley were asleep almost immediately. "Thirty Minutes, T-Girl, no more!" Charley ordered, before nodding off herself.

"Understood, Charley." Thundagirl responded quietly. Normally, she wouldn't have obeyed, letting the girls get the rest they needed. But she couldn't this time. Though the unusual phenomena at Go Tower had been detectable on her visual sensors for some time, now it was starting to register on other instruments as well, and could no longer be dismissed as an optical illusion.

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Kim snapped awake from a terrible nightmare. She'd been kneeling in a desert. She'd been holding one baby in each hand, and they had been shrinking before her eyes, getting smaller and smaller as she watched. She'd screamed 'No!', and they'd stopped shrinking, and even begun to grow larger, but at the same time, Kim had seen her arms and hands begin to wither, as if her life force was being drained to keep the babies from disappearing.

Then she'd seen a shadow, and looked up to see Shego standing over her. She'd begged the woman to help her, but Shego had just glared at her angrily, and shouted, "No! It's your fault! If I hadn't become good, Hego would still be alive! You three are keeping me good, you have to die!" And at that point, Kim had woken up.

The room was dark. She'd refused to take up a patient's bed, and had only been willing to sleep on the couch in a small office on the same floor as Team Go's rooms. A crib had been provided, and both babies slept soundly in it.

Kim wiped cold sweat from her face. She remembered the last time she'd been in a hospital in Go City, though it had been a different one. Four-thirty in the morning with her mother dressing her since she couldn't use her hands. The early morning departure was intended to try and avoid the press who had her staked out, trying to get her side of the events at the Dunn Theater. It had worked, for their departure from Go City at least. But they had had to fight their way to their own front door back in Middleton.

Kim massaged a crick in her neck as she sat up. Something was nagging at her, or pulling at her consciousness. But that went completely out of her mind when she suddenly realized she wasn't alone. Someone was sitting in the easy chair next to the door. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she recognized Doctor Director, dressed in civilian clothes and apparently asleep. "_Guess I didn't say anything aloud during my nightmare! But, what's she doing here?" _She wondered if something had happened to Ron, not knowing of his arrival in Go City the night before. But she doubted it, she was fairly sure Betty would have awakened her for something like that.

She tried to stand up as quietly as possible, but as soon as she was on her feet, Betty's eye opened. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you!" Kim said softly.

Betty shook her head while rubbing her eye with her fist. "Not a problem, Kim, I need to talk to you, anyway!"

Kim grimaced, then gestured towards the door to the small attached bathroom. "Can it wait a few minutes?"

Betty snorted, "Of Course, take your time!"

"Won't be long!" Kim ducked into the bathroom.

Betty rose, stretching and rubbing her back, as she stepped over to the crib, and gazed down at the two small occupants. She smiled, shaking her head, "Only Kim Possible could end up in a situation like this!" she whispered. Then sounds from the bathroom indicated Kim's impending return, and Betty composed herself as the door opened and the girl emerged, adjusting her clothing. She smiled hesitantly at the older woman. "So, what's the sitch? Why are you here, how are your people?"

"Well, it took four tries, and fortunately didn't require Diablo Sauce, to find the right formula to begin the revival process on my people. Turns out we didn't lose anyone permanently, though Professor Dementor took a while to locate. But never mind that, I have a question for you. Have you any idea where Doctor Drakken is?"

Kim blinked, and actually looked around the room as if she expected to spot the scientist, before scrunching up her face in concentration. "Uh, I'm not sure! I mean, I remember one of the nurses taking Amy from me, to carry, because I looked so weak, and later...I saw Milly being carried by a candy-striper, but when Doctor D disappeared...I didn't really notice!"

Betty's eyebrow rose when Kim used Shego's pet name for the missing scientist, but she just nodded when Kim finished. "I understand, things were pretty hectic last night, to put it mildly!" She studied the girl before her critically. "Something doesn't add up here, they way you move, versus the way you look."

Kim's eyes widened. "Oops! Never mind, I don't need to keep my condition a secret from you, after all." She pulled the pendant out of her blouse. "I'm actually back in shape, but this allows me to still look weak, which might be useful against the Valeyard. Also, keeps me from having to explain the change to the press!"

Betty's eye darted back and forth from the pendant to Kim's face. "A device to disguise your appearance? Where did you get it, and how did you suddenly get back in shape?"

Kim blew out her breath noisily. "Ah, well, that's going to be a bit hard to believe, or maybe it would have been, a month ago!" Kim gave Betty a brief sketch of events since they had been separated. She thought Doctor Director took it rather calmly, though truthfully, she'd rarely seen her flustered.

"All the comforts of home, but no neighbors, no visitors?" Betty frowned as Kim's attention seemed to drift. "Kim?"

The girl was startled, and a blush visible even in the dim light colored her face. "I'm sorry, it's just...nothing. Yes, we had visitors, but they were very careful how they talked to us. Never discussed science, technology, or anything like that. Doctor's Orders, I guess. Me, Charley and Doctor D all left the island briefly, but we spent most of the trip sedated. It was for medical treatment. I can have children, now, but only if I'm careful, and Charley can have some now, too." She smiled happily at Betty, and received a guarded one in return, "And Doctor Drakken had his hands fixed, they're more proportionate to his size, now. Oh, and he can control whatever makes his skin go from blue to normal, he only has to be blue if he wants to, now!"

"I'll make a note of that, and update his files at GJ, and elsewhere." Betty studied Kim's expression closely, "You're not all that unhappy that he escaped, are you?"

Kim blushed again. The light in the room was brightening now. "I guess I should, he warned me not to expect him to go straight, we might be enemies again. But, not really, no. I may regret it later, but I'm glad he's free right now." She smiled apologetically at Betty, "Sorry!"

Doctor Director shook her head, and let her gaze wander around the room as she considered her next words. Before she could decide on a topic, however, her wrist comm sounded off. It was Abby. "Betts, found a little surprise when I sorted through your E-Mails this morning!" Betty checked her watch, and frowned, "Abby, didn't you get any sleep? After yesterday..."

"Never mind that! But, yes, I had a catnap. But I had to do something, so I decided to check on any official communications we might have missed in yesterday's turmoil. And I found something interesting that arrived at just short of midnight. A message telling us our people weren't really dead, giving a very long winded explanation, and including what Keyes and Laird agree is the correct formula for reviving our people!"

"Huh!" Betty considered the information, but couldn't make much sense of it. "Unless the Valeyard has a traitor in his camp, that makes little sense, Abs! Well, unless the Doctor sent it, but that's certainly doubtful." Her tone grew frustrated, "Just when so much was clearing up, another mystery!" She suddenly noticed Kim standing with her head cocked, as if listening to something. Ben circled around her head, studying her odd behavior, but at first, she didn't react to him. Then her eyes suddenly reacted to his movement and she snapped out of it. Gaze shifting to Doctor Director, her face suddenly took on a determined look.

Seeing the phone at Betty's ear, she stepped up and spoke softly. "I have to do something, can you please stay with the babies until I get back?" Betty nodded, and Kim hastily exited the room, leaving Betty exchanging looks with Roy and Ben, who both 'shrugged' eloquently. Then Abby's voice drew her attention back to her phone. "Yes, I'm still here! And though I'm not entitled to a status report at the moment, I wonder if you know any interesting 'gossip' about how things are going around the base?"

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"_How the hell did I end up talking about my love life, or lack thereof, with Stoppable?" _Shego thought sourly. She looked at the two beds holding the still-sleeping Wegos. Until Ron had arrived, she'd been sitting between the beds, holding one hand of each of them, thinking some pretty dark thoughts, some of which made her feel ashamed that she'd ever had them.

Ron had pulled her away, saying it was possible that her bond with her brothers might actually be allowing her misery to disturb their rest. It had seemed silly, but when she'd turned them lose, the frowns on their sleeping faces _had_ actually eased, and now were gone altogether. "_Score one for the buf...Hell! What am I doing, regressing? No, going back won't save Hego, my being good or evil had nothing to do with that bastard Time Lord coming after me, and my fam...Eliana! I'm a fool, I didn't even think of her, alone down there!"_

Ron had been talking while she was thinking. "So, what do you think is 'missing' between you and Kim? I mean, you guys..." He broke off as Shego abruptly stood up, and looked around frantically. The robe she wore loosely over her armor's undersuit gaped open, and Ron averted his eyes from some unintended exposure. "I need to find a phone! No, I need to get Nerdlinger to check on Eliana, she's all alone..." Then she spotted KIm passing the open door, face determined. "Possible?" Ron looked up as well, but if Kim heard Shego, she didn't react. ROn and Shego exchanged puzzled glances, then both headed through the door. Kim was striding purposefully away from them, heading towards..."Hego's room?" Shego wondered aloud, before setting off after the girl, with Ron trailing her.

Kim passed a knot of policemen, four officers talking to a Captain, apparently a popular one, from their relaxed attitudes. Behind her, Shego never took her eyes off the girl, but Ron noticed one officer, taller then the others, following Kim with his eyes. Then something the Captain said drew his attention, and approving nods from the other policemen.

Kim saw another group of police outside her destination. These had immaculate uniforms, even after the events of the previous day and night. Amongst them stood Alvin Lusion, The Mayor's Press Secretary, who closely resembled Ron's fictional depiction of the Mayor, possessing a slight overbite, a balding head, and large ears. He saw her coming and frowned, stepping forward to block her path. "And where do you think you're going, Miss Possible?"

Kim came to a stop, and restrained her rising impatience enough to be polite. "I need to see Hego, Sir."

Lusion gave her a regretful smile. "I'm sorry, but that's impossible. The Mayor is sitting vigil inside, and shouldn't be disturbed, so you'll have to leave." Despite her growing irritation, Kim peripherally noticed a young man with spiky red hair behind Lusion, with a slight smirk on his face. She also was aware when it abruptly disappeared, and the man backed up into the crowd of policemen, the Mayor's personal escort. She didn't give it much thought, however, until Shego's voice preempted her own protest.

"Well, I'm a member of his family, so the Mayor doesn't supersede my rights, Alvin!" Shego came up alongside Kim, and she felt Ron behind her, as well.

Al Lusion's smile slipped a little, and he took a step back, but didn't concede. "I believe you're also a wanted felon," Behind him, the officers' reactions to where things were heading varied from resignation to alarm, "And despite your defeat of that terrible beast last night...say, how _did_ you know it's weakness? I mean, isn't that the sort of thing that your _good_ friend Doc..."

"Al!" The door to the room had opened, and the Mayor stood there. Ron, all set to call on his MMP, relaxed slightly at the sight. The Mayor looked like hell, relative to his normal state. His eyes were red, his tailored suit rumpled, and his expression tired as he focused on his Press Secretary. "I don't want any disturbances in this hospital, especially one caused by my own staff!"

Oblivious to the possibility that the Mayor's meaning didn't match his own intentions, Lusion still had a smug look. "Well, if Shego agrees to surrender quietly, and these teens, who have associated quite a bit with known felons..." Kim, Shego, and Ron were all tensing up again, and anger management was becoming a serious issue.

"Al!" The tone was different, this time, and the smug grin vanished in a flash, as Lusion's head snapped around to lock onto the suddenly stormy expression on his boss' face. Without another word, the Mayor stepped back, holding the door open, and gestured for the trio to enter. As soon as Ron entered last, he let the door swing shut, and looked at Shego. "Don't suppose telling you how I really feel about this would make much sense, you wouldn't believe me anyway, would you?"

Shego tore her eyes from her brother's body to regard him. "Old habits are hard to break, and there's been too much between us to overcome, I think." she replied neutrally. After a moment, the Mayor nodded in agreement, and sat down in one chair. Shego looked around the room. "Where's Warren? He said he'd stay here with Henry!"

"_Shego!"_ Ron hissed, and Shego spun around. Hego lay on his bed, the left half of his face covered by dressings stained red, IVs in both hands, and apparently a third running to his thigh, under the covers. There was no perceptible movement of his chest.

Kim was touching his forehead, next to the edge of the dressing. Her expression was blank, and Shego could see blue energy flickering around her hand. "_What the..."_

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She'd reached impulsively out, to adjust a lock of hair on Hego's forehead, and now, she seemed to be in a void, the hospital room a vaguely seen background.

"_What's going on?" _She heard her own voice asking. The voice that replied should have shaken her, but somehow it didn't.

"_Hello?"_

"_Who?_ _Hego?"_

There was a long pause, then "_Henry, just Henry...is that Kim? I'm scared, Kim, I'm so scared that I've failed, that I'm going to die, that I'm going to die a failure...so scared..." _the frantic, frightened tone tore at Kim's heart.

"_Don't say that, Henry! Ana wanted to talk to you so badly, to apologize...for some things, to tell you she does care about you all, she always has, deep down. Henry...I'm scared too, I'm frustrated...that sounds selfish, doesn't it? I so badly want to tell you that you're not going to die, but we both know...you already have. It's just the power, holding you here, but why?"_

There was no reply, and she heard a note of panic creep into her voice. "_Henry? Don't be gone, please? Not yet, there's something you need, isn't there? That's why you won't let go, why you're using the power to hang on, isn't it?"_

This time she received a reply, this time a controlled, almost confident one. "_I know Ana cares, I knew she always cared, Kim, I never...doubted it. For whatever reason, she gave me a new family, after I lost my own...my own...Day. Henry Day, the name my parents gave me...Henry Robinson Day. I want people to know that was..._is _my name. Please make sure people know who my parents were, what my name is, please, Kim?"_

"_I will, I promise I will! Whatever it takes, I'll see that that name is on your...I promise you, Henry, people will know...Henry?...Henry Day?...oh...Oh God, Please...take care of him, he was such...he _is _such a good soul."_

For a long time, there was silence, then Kim felt something, a presence...

"_**What do you Want to be, What do you Need to be?"**_

"_Wha...I don't _need _to be anything, I _am _what I want to be!"_

"_**Verifying..."**_

"_What?"_

"_**Your behavior, with some exceptions, has been heroic, when called upon to be so. Your relationship with the Mentor, however, was antagonistic."**_

"_Mentor? Macheles? He..."_

"_**Your memories of the Mentor's actions show that his behavior was contrary to the program. Therefore, your opposition to him is acceptable. The decision now is, with behavioral modification impossible, can you be allowed to retain these powers? Analyzing..."**_

"_Wait, you're damaged, you can't make a proper decision! And I'm not even sure I _want _any powers, I've done fine without them!"_

"_**Correction, Core program is self repairing, as long as prime unit is relatively intact. As to the powers, transference of the glow has already taken place, and cannot be reversed. You have no need for physical enhancement, true, your physicality is exceptional. You are a creature of grace and speed, with adequate power and strength already present to compliment those attributes. Powers for you would have to take a different direction...You have a healing link with another, are you leader and sidekick, or partners within the overall team?"**_

"_Um, we're equals, so partners would be more accurate. You say your prime..."_

"_**Your normal attitude places others' safety before your own. In the best interests of the program, your powers would best be oriented to providing protection to others at reduced risk to yourself, to prevent sacrificial behavior becoming necessary...What is this unknown power you hold within? It is mystical in nature, your ability to hold it is fascinating...but irrelevant to the program. Your power set is selected, you will have full knowledge of how to use it when we break contact, though you may or may not retain memory of this conversation. You will, of course, remember the final wishes of the previous wielder of the blue glow. Good Fortune, Hero, make everyone proud!"**_

"_Wait, can I ask..."_

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Kim came back to herself in the midst of chaos. Someone, a nurse, had her by the shoulders, guiding her away from the hospital bed, as doctors and other medical personnel worked frantically over Hego. The scream of the medical monitors, announcing the cessation of his vital signs, the quickly snapped orders from doctors, the voices demanding information. One of those drew Kim's focus, and she pulled away from the nurse and moved to take hold of Shego, who's anguish came across so strongly that Kim's heart threatened to break.

She embraced the older woman, and turned her away from the bed. Shego's tear-filled eyes met Kim's. "I'm sorry," Kim whispered, "I'm so sorry, but he's gone!" Then they collapsed into each other, and if Ron hadn't braced them both, they'd have fallen to the floor. "I told him you were here, I told him...he knew you cared, Ana, all along, he knew, trust me! He knew..." Then her sobs overwhelmed her words, and then more arms were around them, and they let themselves be guided from the room.

Flashes of light in the hallway, sharp, low-voiced orders to keep the press back.

Then another room, a couch for them to collapse onto without breaking contact.

Shego and Ron, with Kim in between, but Ron broke contact once the two women were settled. The Reeder twins, who had supplied the other supporting arms, now standing there, helpless, unable to ease the pain, tears in their own eyes as well.

An annoying voice. Al Lusion. "She stole Hego's power, we all saw it! Maybe he'd have survived if she hadn't..." The voice cut off abruptly.

Kim felt a small spark of anger within her. But then she felt it in Shego, too, and damped her own down immediately. "Shh, calm down, don't let anger force the pain down, you have to face it!" She murmured. Shego's embrace tightened, but the anger faded. Kim became aware of green light visible through her eyelids, and felt Shego's power dancing over her skin.

"What's happening now! I'm telling you..."

"It's the healing bond Reithan unintentionally created between them!" Charley's voice cut Lusion off. "They're in pain, and it's trying to find the cause! But there's nothing it can do for them, this time, because the pain has no physical cause to heal. If you believe something illegal has happened here, then go make a report to a policeman, but leave them in peace!"

"Alvin." Came a deep voice Kim recognized as Inspector Ball's, having made his acquaintance on previous visits to Go City, "I consider that excellent advice."

Silence ruled after that for several minutes. Shego eventually relaxed, and pulled back enough to look Kim in the eyes. "You actually spoke to him?"

Kim nodded, as she accepted a tissue from Beth, and began to wipe around Shego's eyes. "I guess that's what it was. He should have been gone, but his power kept him here, so he could make a last request. I did tell him you cared, Ana, but he did already know that, believe me. He was grateful to you, making him a part of a 'family' again, so grateful." Shego began to cry again, and fell against Kim, burying her face in the girl's shoulder, while Kim held her and patted her back.

They remained like that for a while, before Kim became aware of someone looming over them. She looked up into the eyes of Mayor Lewis. "I'm sorry, Miss Possible, I shouldn't...he had a last request? Please tell me what it was."

Kim hesitated before replying. "He just wanted his birth name, his family name, to be on his grave. That's all."

The Mayor began to nod slowly, only to frown when Lusion spoke up again. "His legal name is Henry Go, and I..." Kim heard his mouth snap shut, though she didn't look to see the cause. The Mayor looked Kim in the eyes. "It will be done, we owe him that. I owe him that much, and more." He patted Shego on the shoulder, turned, and left the room, pulling Al Lusion out the door with him.

"God!" Shego muttered, barely audible with her face still buried in Kim's shoulder, "I'd like just one thing to be a certainty in my life, and now that guy shows me he's not a complete jerk! Another cherished illusion shattered!"

She pulled back from Kim, and the girl gave her a wan smile. "Maybe I'll be that certainty, Ana."

Shego smiled weakly back. "To a point, you already are. How much farther we take that, I can't guess." She looked around at the assembled Team Possible, minus Rufus. "But first, we have to deal with a nasty piece of work who killed my brother!"

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Doctor Director's chin slipped off the hand she'd been propping it up on, as she almost nodded off. She blinked rapidly, trying to drive the sleepiness away, but having little success. But all fatigue vanished abruptly when an alarmed squeal emanated from Roy. Her eye tracked on to the two skulls hovering over the crib as they began to rotate rapidly in place. She rose to her feet, scanning the room herself. There was nothing visible, but she now felt uneasy.

She turned towards the door, intent on asking any GCPD officers present for assistance. Then a sharp tone from behind her caused her to spin around. Both skulls dove into the crib, making alarmed noises. Betty rushed to the crib and looked in, and her eye widened in shock.

The crib was empty.

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"Some scientists want to get close to Go Tower to try and determine for themselves what's going on, and they asked us to take them close in Thundagirl. I checked them out with your Dad, he knows most of them, and vouched for them." Charley was speaking to Kim as they exited the lounge.

Kim frowned in concern. "How bad are things at the tower?"

Charley shook her head slightly. "You can barely see the tower now, Kim, I'm getting very worried. I'd rather be looking for the Valeyard's hideout, but I can't think where to begin! Might as well keep these guys happy for now."

Kim nodded reluctantly. "Okay, but be careful! And hurry them along, I want you guys available if something suddenly pops up."

"We will." Charley assured her, then signaled the other girls. She gave Ron a quick smile as the others passed her, JJ stopping to give her arm a playful tug, pulling her towards the elevator. Charley gave her friend a stern look, "Coming, Coming! Sometimes I think I should have stayed boss, wouldn't get this kind of treatment!"

That drew a derisive snort from Belle. "Since when?" Then they were gone, and Kim looked up the hallway in time to see Shego turn into the Wegos' room. Ron trailed slightly behind her, giving the little group of policemen a look as he passed them. The one who had paid Kim so much attention before was gone now, leaving the Captain speaking with three officers. Ron went into the Wegos' room, as well, and Kim started after him, remembering to keep her pace consistent with her disguise.

But as she started past the policemen, the Captain turned around and stepped into her path. "Miss Possible? I'm sorry to bring this up at all, but we need to discuss Shego's 'status'. I mean, we can all turn a blind eye as long as we want, but some people want assurances. I mean, are you willing to vouch for her behavior?" His tone was regretful, his expression sympathetic, and despite her annoyance, Kim gave him a smile.

"Yes, Of course I will!" She stated confidently.

"Very Good! Now, let's go tell the nervous nellies themselves, it'll only take a minute, I promise! And there might be someone else who'd have their spirits lifted to meet you. I know you have your own emotional difficulties, but this is the young daughter of one of our officers who was injured yesterday, and I do know she's a fan of yours. She's waiting for her father's surgery to be done, you see."

Kim grimaced. "_Why now?" _Then she gave the Captain a smile. "I can't be away from my children for long, I don't know what good I can do."

The Captain shrugged eloquently. "Perhaps bring her up here, to help watch your babies? She does babysitting herself, in fact she's quite popular with other officers with children."

Kim's smile widened, and she nodded, "Sounds like a plan! She's downstairs?"

"One floor down, in fact, this shouldn't take long!" he assured her. He ushered Kim into an elevator and followed, giving a nod to a passing officer as the doors slid shut.

They had barely closed when Betty Director rushed from the office where the babies had been, with Roy and Ben right on her shoulders as she strode rapidly down the hall.

A moment later, the elevator next to the one Kim had entered opened, and Charley and the girls spilled out, and rushed to meet the GJ leader. Policemen up and down the corridor became alert instantly.

"So, your little buddy has the right voice to make some aliens take orders?" Shego asked Ron. They were back in the chairs they'd occupied previously.

"Him, and some agent named Waller. And they're not really aliens, they're artificial..."

"Shego!" Betty burst into the room, "Something's happened to the babies! They're gone, right out from under our noses, literally!" She gestured at the two skulls hovering over her. Charley and the others entered right behind her, and the door remained open under the press of curious policemen.

Shego's mouth dropped open in shock, and she felt dizzy, falling against Ron. "_No! No, this can't be happening! What if...what if they disappeared, like the Doctor warned us they might, because Kim was with me!"_

"They were taken!" Charley snapped, and Shego's eyes locked on the girl's angry visage.

Then another voice, weak and unsteady, came from one of the beds. "Your little girls? Ana, someone took your babies?" One Wego, Ted, was pushing himself up in bed. His twin, Franklin, was awake too, blinking in confusion, with a scowl growing on his face.

Shego couldn't handle the warring emotions in her head. She just stared, as if in shock, at the twins. Until Ted began to throw the covers off. "What? What do you think you...two are doing?" Her voice began faint, but strengthened quickly.

"They're our nieces! We're not staying here if they're in danger!" Both teen heroes struggled out of bed, trying to keep their hospital gowns under control. Shego shot out of her seat, moving hurriedly to embrace both of them, tears again in her eyes. "Thank You, you guys are...my best boys!" Both boys rolled their eyes at that, but smiled as they returned the embrace.

Beth was looking around the room, a frown on her face. "Where's Kim?" she asked the room in general. That made everyone look about. "She was right behind us, I thought..." Ron ventured. Then a police officer in the doorway spoke up. "Oh, I saw her talking to Captain Masters, just a of couple minutes ago!"

Charley Cob spun on her heel to face him, a fierce look on her face. "Who did you say?"

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"We have your children."

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Please read and Review, if you will.


	33. Into the Lair, as usual

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

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"WADE! Have you got a fix on Kim?" Ron practically shouted into his Comm.

"Hang on!" The boy genius replied, fingers dancing across his keyboards.

"Captain Masters? What are you three talking about? There's no Captain Masters on the force!" Inspector Ball was addressing the three officers who had been talking with the disguised Master in the hall. All three now looked completely confused.

"I thought he was dead!" Betty whispered to Charley, pulling the girl away from the GCPD men.

"He is! This is very confusing! But, the effect he had on those men, that's his style. But he had help, kidnapping the babies, and I know who, and why!" The anger in the girl's voice caused Betty's frown to deepen.

"So do I!" Shego snapped, joining the pair's conversation. "It was that idiot 'interventionist' alien, right? He's trying to rescue those people of his the Valeyard may have trapped, and he cut a deal to do it, didn't he? He took the babies, and that Captain 'whoever' just took Kim, didn't he?" Her anger was nearly a physical force, but her voice broke suddenly as she continued, "I Can...I can't lose them! Any of them! Or God help me, I don't know how I'll deal with it, what I'll do..."

Charley held her tongue, she wasn't entirely certain which Ar'Ithane was responsible, herself.

"Ron! Kim's Kimmunicator is in the hospital parking garage, but she's not! It's in a pile of what I think are her clothes, someone wanted to make sure she wasn't bugged, or carrying a tracking device! It's on Level 4, in Section G!" Everyone in the room heard Wade's announcement. Ball turned to a senior detective, who left without a word, grabbing a colleague as he exited.

Charley shot Fred a look, and the black skull dropped out of sight of the policemen, and cloaked. She then turned to Doctor Director. "Can you take charge, on any pretext?" She whispered.

Betty shook her head, "Not even if I wasn't suspended! Not without explaining who we're up against, and that would make it a matter for UNIT!" She stopped when she saw Charley's and Shego's puzzled looks, and guessed the cause. She sighed, and explained, "Suspension is mandatory if your command suffers a certain level of casualties, and the attack on my base went way over that level, even if there weren't any fatalities! I'm off-duty, though it's unlikely to be permanent, all things considered." Then she winced. "Oh, Shego? I'm afraid your plane...was destroyed! Accidentally, I assure you!"

Shego rolled her eyes, then shook her head slowly. "Was Stoppable anywhere nearby, when it happened?"

Charley shot her a sharp look, while Betty snorted, "No, the same thought actually occurred to me, but he wasn't involved."

Distracting herself before she could speak her mind in defense of Ron, Charley pulled up her bracer, and studied the displays, then shifted her focus to her comm. "T-Girl, you have anything?"

"Neg, Boss! By the time I got off the ground, Kim was untagged, I couldn't spot her anywhere! Do we have any idea what kind of vehicle she left in? Provided whoever took her used a car?"

"Trying to access hospital security cameras for the garage level, now!" Zita Flores' voice came from three different sources in the room, and everyone winced, then looked towards Inspector Ball. His face was impassive. "You get anything, you tell me immediately, understand?" He got several nods in return. He nodded himself, then turned and left the room, leaving Team Possible, Betty, and the Wegos alone. The twins had just emerged from the bathroom, back in costume.

Shego eyed them critically. "Are you two sure you want to do this? You had quite a shock last night." The concern in her voice was genuine, drawing a faint smile from Betty, and mock-pained grimaces from the Wegos. "Yes, we're fine, Ana, we..." Their voices trailed off as they spotted a new arrival in the room.

Everyone looked to see a middle-aged woman with gray-streaked auburn hair, and a look of concern on her face, her attention completely focused on the two boys. Shego struggled to keep a frown off her face, then huffed in exasperation. "_Hardly fair to be angry at her, is it? I'm the one who left!"_

The woman moved forwards, and the twins moved to meet her. "Are you two all right? I'm sorry I took so long to get here, I had to look after Linda, she's almost due, and yesterday..." Then both boys hugged her. Shego flinched, and resisted an urge to look away.

"We Understand!" The twins chorused. "Is your niece okay, Mrs Lasperry?"

"Oh, yes, she's fine now, but it was so trying, worrying about her husband out there with those monsters!" The woman had tears in her eyes now. "I'm so sorry about Henry! I couldn't believe...I can't understand it, when such a good person dies like that, while others...not very charitable of me, everyone's time comes, but..." She broke off with a sob.

Everyone else in the room except Ron and Charley tried not to stare, and stood around awkwardly. Ron had his comm to his ear, getting a report from Wade on satellite images of the area. Charley's attention was focused on her bracer as she received information from Fred, who had reached the garage.

Finally the three separated, wiping away tears. Ted turned to look at everyone. "This is Mrs Lasperry, she helped raise us, after we became heroes. She was kind of a mom to us." He glanced guiltily at Shego as he said the last, but his sister just nodded, smiling slightly to show she wasn't offended. Ted relaxed slightly, and introduced everyone in the room to the woman. She in turn was polite to all, but kept glancing nervously at Shego. Franklin whispered something in her ear, and a shocked look came over her face. She turned immediately to Shego, and surprised the woman by taking her hands. "Ana, I'm so sorry, I didn't know about your baby, do you have any idea who took her?"

Shego stood blinking a moment before she regained her composure. "Um, we know who's behind it, but we don't know where to look for him, yet! I...I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me, when you're with the boys, I have no right to be bitter about how things turned out, _I'm_ the one who left them, after all!"

"You didn't know your own mind, Ana! And I didn't help much, did I? I never did appreciate how much they meant to you, you just seemed to be another irresponsible teenager, always debating and arguing with adults. I never realized that you really had reason to be upset with...well, you know! I didn't recognize the fact that they were exploiting you all, not until you'd left. I never realized that before then so many of the good things you all did as a team were _your_ doing, not the intentions of those self-centered..." she shook her head in frustration, "I just never stopped and took a clear look at things, and it was selfish of me!"

Shego shook her head. "And I never bothered to find out what happened to your own sons, I just heard that you'd lost them. So, I just saw you as trying to replace your own boys with..." She looked wistfully at the twins, "...my boys." She suddenly, spontaneously hugged the woman. "You did good by them, and I owe you big time, and I mean it!"

Betty Director felt an elbow poke lightly into her ribs. She realized her mouth was hanging open, and snapped it shut, looking over to see Ron grinning at her.

"Can you blame me?" she whispered plaintively. Ron shook his head, grin widening. "Imagine two months watching this kind of behavior, I was almost convinced that I was having a 'too-many-Nacos' dream!" He whispered back.

"Nothing in the garage to help us, and Zita reports all video cameras down there went off line during the period that Kim and her abductor were in there." Charley announced. "They found most of her clothes, she still has her underwear, and for some reason, her disguise pendant."

Betty frowned. "Why would her abductor let her keep an item that could easily be a tracking device?"

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Kim Possible lay on the floor in the back seat of the car she and her abductor had left the hospital in. He'd had the keys, so it didn't appear to be stolen, and Kim was certain he'd done something to the garage's video surveillance system that prevented the vehicle from being identified. Which, for the moment, suited Kim just fine. She'd come with the man voluntarily, on his promise that she was being taken to where her children were being held. And she desired to reach that destination unimpeded as much as he did.

She was unbound, wearing the coat from his police captain's uniform over her underwear. And, mysteriously, her disguise pendant. He'd made her remove it at first, and been intrigued at the effect. Then, he had told her to put it back on, and resume her 'weakened' guise, which had proved difficult, using only the car's side mirror to set her appearance. Why he preferred her to look this way mystified her.

"Do you know who I am, Miss Possible?" He suddenly asked. The low, cultured and friendly voice that had fooled her so thoroughly almost made her grit her teeth now. But she resisted the urge, since acquiring information about her foe was the smart thing to do. "Well, I don't think you're the Valeyard." she replied.

That drew a derisive snort from him. "Certainly not!" He paused a moment as he negotiated a tricky turn around some wrecked vehicles still not cleared from an intersection. "I am a...copy, you could say, of a Time Lord known as The Master. An incomplete copy with a short life span brought to life by your enemy, who hoped to use my cunning and ruthlessness to further his own plans, whatever form he was in."

Kim had to decide which of several questions that his words had spawned in her mind should be addressed first. And how to phrase whichever one she chose. "'Hoped'? Are you implying that he didn't get exactly what he wanted?"

The Master chuckled. "Oh, very good! And no, not at all what he wanted. You see, I may have been the Doctor's foe, and 'evil', by your standards, but that course in my life was taken due to events that caused emotional decisions, that in turn caused me to commit certain acts which could never be undone. You see, when I first went 'rogue' from Gallifrey, I actually was motivated to do what the Doctor does now, try and help lesser species avoid disastrous mistakes. My methods, I'll admit, were far more ruthless, and I wasn't as interested in giving the people I 'helped' a free choice in things, but I did actually save a large number of lives."

"I also picked up a companion, who I became very fond of. On one of our 'missions', to prevent a disastrous war from breaking out, she was killed by one of the people we were trying to help. Or so I thought. In retaliation, I let the first strike of that war go through, killing millions of people and making the whole bloody affair inevitable. But then I found out the truth. My companion was a Time Lord, planted with me to monitor my activities, to spy on me!"

"In other words, I'd slain millions of people, or allowed them to die, to avenge someone who wasn't dead, someone I...loved, and who, in my mind, betrayed my trust! So, I became no longer concerned with 'helping' people, I began to prefer ruling them. Only later did I learn that her love for me was probably genuine, because she'd stopped reporting my movements to the High Council!"

"But by then, it was too late for me to undo all that I had done. I had committed those acts, and set my course, for better or for worse! But now, my memories of those times are objective, as if they are the memories of another person, entirely. They have no emotional resonance to me, and do not motivate my current actions, or intentions."

"What does motivate you?"

"At the moment? My injured pride, predominantly. Though only a 'copy', I cannot abide the fact that he hoped to use me in his plans, like some..." He paused, apparently to control his anger, before resuming, "His arrogance, an emotion I know all to well, offends me greatly! I have already managed to circumvent his control over me, and extended my lifespan somewhat, but there is no way to make this body permanent. Therefore, it is my intention to gain revenge on him, by both the defeat of his plan, and...well, I am not a merciful man, Miss Possible! And if so doing involves you and your children, then I will make use of you! However, I have no enmity towards you or them, and if at all possible I will see that you escape unharmed. That may not sound like much of a guarantee, but it is an accurate statement of my intentions."

Kim wasn't sure how to respond to that, so silence reigned for several minutes before the Master spoke again. "Unfortunately, I'm uncertain what his current plan is, and that phenomenon occurring in the bay worries me, do you have any idea what it's significance is?"

Kim pulled herself up enough to peer out the driver's side window. They were driving along the shore, now, with little traffic about. Looking towards Go Tower, she realized she couldn't make it out at all anymore, it was now completely concealed within the pillar of blue-white fire. Coast Guard and Police watercraft had established a cordon around Go West Island, trying to keep people too curious for their own good away. There were, however, at least two vessels Kim could see inside that cordon, most likely holding scientists and others trying to examine the fire.

Bringing her focus back to the Master's question, she skipped the rhetorical 'you mean you don't know?' that popped into her head, and instead began to relate the story as she knew it. All of it, though she wasn't at all sure why she was being so cooperative. She pulled herself up to where she could peer between the seats, and she saw his grip tighten on the steering wheel as her narrative came to an end.

"That FOOL!" He spat out, "How could anyone from Gallifrey, even a half-wit clone, be so idiotically irresponsible! He could irretrievably damage the space-time continuum, at the very least! He could trigger events that would cause the Time Lords...no, they aren't around anymore, are they? Well, if his plan is to destroy humanity, he may accomplish that, merely by sitting back and waiting! And preventing that occurrence, defeating his plan...For the moment, I have no idea how to do it! Maybe the Doctor..." He trailed off.

"But, aren't you a Time Lord? I mean, I _have_ heard a few things about you, and you are supposed to be his intellectual equal!" Kim said, hopefully.

A short bark of derisive laughter issued from the Master. "Ha! His equal? My original self was his superior, make no mistake! But this copy...the Valeyard deprived me of my scientific knowledge, the very weapon I could now make the best use of! If it weren't for his own inadequacies, I wouldn't have been able to make the changes to myself that I already have!" He looked in the rear view mirror, catching Kim's eyes with his own. "No need to stay down any longer, Miss Possible, there appears to be little traffic between here and our destination."

Kim nodded and moved up onto the seat, fastening her seatbelt. A thought that triggered mixed emotions suddenly occurred to her, and she scowled as she spoke it aloud. "Would the Rani be any help?" The car weaved slightly as the Master looked in the mirror, his surprise clear on his face. "She's here, on Earth?"

Kim nodded, "Yes, she actually arrived here with the Valeyard, but she's in custody now. UNIT's custody."

"Hmph! That would make things rather awkward, don't you think?" He scowled, shaking his head, "She _could_ be useful, I suppose, though her fascination with genetics certainly caused her to neglect other studies. Still, she is brilliant, and graduated high in her class from the Academy...but how to get in touch with her, and tell her the story?"

Kim thought about that briefly. "Actually, she knows part of the story, and it's possible she'll hear the rest of it from Doctor Director, I told her about it this morning. Otherwise, I'd have to contact them and suggest it."

The Master considered that idea only briefly, then shook his head. "No, Miss Possible, I don't think that idea would be worth the risk. We'll just have to come up with something on our own." as he said this, he turned off the road into a gravel covered parking area. Two wooden docks extended into the bay, to which were moored several small watercraft. No people were to be seen, though there were two other vehicles in the lot.

Steering his own car into the space between them, the Master parked and exited the vehicle, scanning the surroundings intently. He opened the rear door for Kim to get out, then led her out on to one of the docks, studying the three boats tied to it. Only one was suited to their needs, being a small cabin cruiser. Trying to sneak Kim past the cordon in an open boat was too risky, even if they didn't actually cross it. "Well, my dear, the best of a mediocre lot, I'm afraid!" He said, almost apologetically, while helping Kim down into the boat.

Kim didn't waste any breath protesting their obvious theft of someone's boat. She entered the cabin, taking a seat on a rather ratty bench seat, as the Master studied the controls, before starting the engine. He gave her a tight smile as he cast off. "I suspect that the Valeyard has already used his own boat to return to the island. And I cannot activate the transmat link between the island and...well, I was able to use it _leaving_ the island, but I cannot use it to return us there, more's the pity."

"Go East Island?" Kim asked, studying the low, nearly flat neighbor to Go West Island. Her eyes involuntarily drifted to the water between the two, discerning the rocks where the Doctor had landed his TARDIS in that other future. She shuddered, and the Master's voice showed genuine concern. "Are you all right, my dear?" Then a comprehending look came over his face. "Ah! Unpleasant memories, I see." He nodded, "Yes, Miss Possible, Go East Island is where the Valeyard established his headquarters, in a survival shelter cum observation post taken from his TARDIS."

Kim nodded to herself. She wondered if she could risk attacking the Master now, and summoning Team Possible to go after the babies. But she couldn't bring herself to take the risk. She merely remained seated, frowning as she studied their destination.

Back in the parking lot, a small purple object dropped from inside the rear bumper of the Master's car. Mego looked around, a bit unsteadily. "I must have inhaled some exhaust, not a good combination with the Scotch I had before!"

He shook his head, but that only made him feel worse. Moving into the open, he tried to grow, but nothing happened. "Great! Until I burn this alcohol out of my system, I can't grow, and I have no idea where Kim went!" He picked his way carefully around to the front of the car, and peered about. He saw the docks and boats clearly, but he couldn't see the diminishing dot of the boat Kim and the Master were in, due to his low height, one of the docks blocking his view.

Not that it was hard to deduce what had happened, but the possibility that the pair had merely switched cars also occurred to Mego. "Damn! Couldn't save Henry last night, now I've lost Kim! Shego's going to kill me!" Fortunately for Mego's already damaged spirits, he was ignorant of the abduction of the babies.

It took him several minutes to determine that there were no phones around the docks, and he looked at the half-mile distant service station that represented the nearest visible possibility of one. "Oh, Man! Well, maybe I'll work off enough alcohol to be able to grow again, before I reach there. Wish I hadn't been able to shrink while...Oh, right, Mego! Then you wouldn't have been able to follow Kim and that guy at all!" He shook his head, and began to carefully pick his way through the gravel, headed for the smoother surface of the road.

0000000000

"Go East Island, you say?" The Air Force Chief of Staff sat at the head of a small conference table, at which were also seated Arthur Mandley, Frank Pan, and the Air Force Chief of Intelligence, with his aide. A somewhat nervous Captain was the target of the inquiry. He stood at the opposite end of the table from the CoS, in front of a screen showing a satellite view of Go City.

"Err, Yes, Sir! Um, this structure here, the only one on the island, obviously, heh!" the Captain flinched when the CoS frowned, "There's no records of any kind of it's construction, and we have found several discrepancies in the permits that were filed for it in the city records. It's not very large, but matches the dimensions we were told to look for exactly! There's something wrong with our real-time view of the place, however. This boat tied up at the pier? We have no record of it's arrival, one second it wasn't there, and the next, it was!"

"Obviously something connected to the phenomenon occurring on Go West Island." The Chief of Intelligence observed. "We are still not receiving satisfactory data regarding what exactly _is_ going on there."

"Well," The CoS began, "Our immediate priority is the apprehension of Ed Dray. And despite everything, I want him taken into custody by the Air Force, or Delta Force, not any Federal Agency, UNIT, or Global Justice! What's the status on our task force?" He directed this question to Panda, who scowled slightly as he responded, "Well, if we wait for the Delta operators, they won't get off the ground for another thirty-five minutes, at least. If we just send the Security Police, they could leave now."

"I think we need to wait for Delta, sir, in light of the many tricks he's shown us so far, we have no idea what he might unleash on our people when they attack his base of operations." the Chief of Intelligence expressed his opinion.

"As long as there's no chance of anyone else getting there first, I agree." Panda added. "With Global Justice currently out of the picture, the only people who could possibly get there without adequate warning would be Team Possible."

"Any way we can tie them up, do you think?" the CoS asked. No one seemed to want to answer that one. "Also, I believe we should discuss what exactly we'll do with Dray when we have him, and how we'll handle the public."

Mandley's head came up, a frown forming on his face, but Panda spoke before he could. "As to the latter, the opening given to us by Miss Cob's little press statement is worth exploring. A friend of mine at Langley agrees we can make the 'Cold War leftover' story work."

"Can you create sufficient evidence to make it stick, though?" the CoS asked.

"Actually, evidence should be in very short supply if the story were true, so all we should provide are a few supporting facts. Too much evidence would be suspicious in regard to an implanted sleeper agent, especially one sent through one of our military academies. We've picked a candidate for his 'master', a KGB General who tried building his own little empire within their intelligence apparatus, and made many enemies. He and his personal staff were quietly rounded up and executed during the Revolution." Panda replied. "Which would have left Dray a free agent, unknown in Moscow."

Now Mandley spoke up, voice barely under control. "Aren't we going to prosecute Dray for the murders of up to seven people? For treason?"

The Chief of Intelligence fielded that question. "Since the revelation of General Dray's true nature, an in-depth examination of all the developmental projects he supervised has been underway, and not just to find out how much money he diverted from his funds to this private project of his." Both Mandley's and Panda's eyes widened at that description of Dray's scheme, but they had no chance to comment, as the man went on, "And we have found out that many innovations, many shortcuts, many serious breakthroughs in technological knowledge, apparently came right from Dray's brain. "Or, to put it simply, his knowledge is a resource we can't afford to waste. He'll be imprisoned, make no mistake, but there will be no death penalty, Colonel, if that's what you're hoping for."

Mandley never had a chance to express his opinion, as the door to the room flew open to admit a breathless Major. "General, UNIT is on the move! And they know right where to go!" He pointed at the viewing screen, which now showed an overhead shot of a tight formation of helicopters traveling over water. "They took off ten minutes ago from UNIT-North America's base in Ohio, and they're headed right for Go City!"

The Chief of Staff turned to Panda. "Frank, get our boys moving, right away! Whoever's with our choppers, I want them airborne, now! Not letting a UN organization gain control of that man, if we can help it!"

0000000000

"Charley, I want to talk with you about something, privately." Charley roused from her thoughts to see Shego standing over her. She looked around, but the two were alone, in the office from which the babies had been taken. She shrugged, "What's on your mind?"

"I've been considering some...desperate measures, actually. We need help, especially someone who can tell us what's going on out there in the bay! But, where do we get such help?" Shego stared at Charley as if willing her to come up with the same answers she had.

Charley smiled grimly. "I don't think we have time to locate where UNIT has the Rani, then break her out! Besides, we may not need to. She might be in a cooperative mood, because of this." She pulled out her comm and dialed the contact number for Steadfast MacLaren. And got no signal. "What the..." she hit the call button for Wade, and got no response there, either. "We've got a problem, no signal's getting out!" She went to the desk, and tried the phone, dialing Wade's number from memory. This time, she got an answer. "Wade, what's up? Can't get through..."

"I know! Believe me, I know!" was the excited reply, "Go City has gone off the air, altogether! No TV, no radio, nothing that doesn't have a solid land line connection, extending outside the city! And I can't locate a specific cause, so I'm guessing it's the obvious answer, whatever is happening at the tower!"

Charley tried her comm again, trying to contact the rest of the Team, or Thundagirl. Nothing. "This is really getting serious, we have to get everyone together! Then establish a means for others to contact us, if anyone gets any information! I...wait, before you spoke to me, I was wondering if the Valeyard's base might actually be in Go City, or around it? After all, he used the tower as his focus last time, after he neutralized Team Go, using Macheles. This time, he had that monster...I think he's here, somewhere! But where? He planted some of those creatures in egg form in the subways and sewers before the attacks, according to the police I've talked to."

"Speaking of Team Go, I'm still missing one brother, Mego promised he'd stay with Henry last night, while I was with the boys, but he snuck out! I hope he isn't planning anything foolish." Shego shook her head in exasperation.

"Any chance he found something out, or saw some clue, and didn't tell us?"

Shego made a face. "In the old days, he'd do that sometimes, yes, but only when he was sure he could handle whoever he was going to face. He has that ego of his, and really wanted some solo credit. But this time?" She sighed, "If he blames himself for Henry dying, or what happened to the Wegos..." She broke off as Ron limped into the room, favoring his left foot. "What'd you do to yourself, Stoppable?" Shego asked, with a note of concern.

"Nothing! This is major weird, suddenly couldn't feel some of my toes!" He sat down, and began pulling his left boot off.

Charley's face showed a touch of fear as she asked, "Which toes, exactly, Ron?"

Ron paused with his sock half off, frowning. "Um, the two outside ones on my left foot..." he trailed off.

"The two you lost in that other world, in the crash." Charley made it a statement. After all, she clearly remembered Ron, all of Ron, from that alternate timeline. "This is getting very scary, it's as if that world is trying to force itself into this one, or they're merging!"

Ron had his sock off, and was wiggling all of his toes. "Pins and needles, but I can feel them, now!"

"Well, that damn behavior modification better not 'cross over'!" Shego snapped, then shook her head. "No, now that I know about it, it shouldn't really affect me!"

"Hopefully, if we resolve this, nothing permanent will happen!" Charley stated, then let worry show on her face, "But I really don't know enough about temporal physics to be sure! All I know is this, we seem to be on our own, we have to save Kim and the babies, and...we may have to kill the Valeyard, that may be the answer to this problem, he's the focus of the instability, maybe removing that focus will fix things!" She looked apologetically at Ron, but he just nodded grimly.

As did Shego. "If that's what it takes, then that's what we'll do!" The trio exited the office to seek out the rest of the team, and found renewed turmoil among the staff.

"What's happened?" Ron asked a nurse as she rushed past him.

"Part of the Old Post Bank collapsed, with no explanation! It's not even in the area where all that trouble happened yesterday!" She replied, never breaking stride as she headed towards the elevators.

Charley and Shego looked at each other, both frowning. Ron turned to see this, and began to speak, then halted with a frown. "That's the building Hego accidently wrecked in the other world, right?"

Both women looked at him in shock, and it took a moment before Charley could find her voice. "Ron, there's no way you should know about that!"

"And it wasn't an accident, it was Macheles!" Shego added, "The Valeyard used him to make Hego lose his temper! He was fighting the Tin-Plated Tyrant, and he slammed him into the bank so hard it brought part of the front wall down. After that, Henry saw people looking at him with fear in their eyes, and he couldn't take it!" She shook her head, and finished in a low voice, "He ran away..."

"But how can Ron know that? I mean, it wasn't in any of the flashes of memory from that world he told us about." Charley looked at Ron, and asked, almost hopefully, "Did you leave one out, Ron?"

He shook his head, "No, I didn't! And I don't know where these new memories are coming from, honest! Or, do I?"

Charley slowly nodded, "I'm sorry to say, I believe you do, Ron! This is getting bad, and it will get worse, if everyone in Go City starts remembering that other world!"

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Kim had an uncharacteristic bout of seasickness as they approached Go East, but it passed quickly. "_Or was that seasickness? Something different about it!"_. They tied up alongside a larger cruiser at the only dock, and went ashore. The Master scanned the horizon, a concerned look on his face. Kim followed suit, and quickly saw what worried him. "Everything out there's moving so slowly! I can see the blades turning on that helicopter!"

The Master looked at the fire wrapped Go Tower, then at the low structure in front of them. "The Tower isn't the center of the temporal distortion, it's here, on this island!" he stated, clearly baffled.

"You couldn't tell before? Some people think the Valeyard's the center, and source, of what's happening!" Kim studied the structure before them. It appeared to be a low, windowless building made of corrugated metal, painted a rapidly fading green, with small blocks of white letters and numbers at various points. It looked like some kind of utility building, more than anything else.

"No, he can't be the center, his body would have been torn apart by the forces involved!" The Master looked about, as if the answer would suddenly spring at him, then shook his head angrily. "Let's go inside! He's back, and I have no idea which persona is dominant, Miss Possible! I'll try and protect you, but not at the cost of my own schemes, that's the only assurance you'll get from me!" He lead the way towards the building, heading towards the only visible door. But instead of reaching for the doorknob, he ran his fingers over a section of wall two feet to the left of the door. He pressed one spot, and exposed a recessed keypad. But he didn't touch the keys, instead reaching up under the top lip of the recess, and felt around briefly. Then a soft click sounded, and the door swung open.

Preceding the Master inside, Kim stopped short. Based on her previous experience, she might have expected an underground lair, for which the building they'd entered was merely an access point, but she saw she'd definitely been mistaken. The level they'd walked into was a good forty feet on each side, with a large opening in the center of the floor surrounded by a safety railing, with one gap in it apparently the head of a flight of stairs down. The far wall was one large window, in front of which were arrayed several fixed swivel chairs. "Is this a TARDIS?" She asked quietly.

"No, though it uses similar principles, obviously. It's meant to function as a survival shelter, or observation post for watching lesser races for scientific research." The Master replied, also keeping his voice down. "It's not as tough as a TARDIS. In fact entry could be forced, even with the primitive equipment of this time. Damaging the entryway too severely, however, could result in the 'collapse' of the extra dimensional space, with dire consequences for us, Miss Possible." He indicated the stairway, "Shall we? Your children await."

Kim scowled at the reminder, but preceded him down the stairs, which made a ninety-degree turn to the left halfway down. As she reached the landing where they turned, she could see into a large room below filled with computers and monitors. Hunched over one of the consoles, she could see a man she had to assume was the Valeyard himself, though he seemed to be taller and more broad-shouldered then any of the three personae she had met previously.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs and approached him, Kim took in the four large monitor screens on the wall above him. Two showed views from sources flying rapidly across country. The third showed what she recognized as the cargo hold of an aircraft, while the fourth displayed the interior of what she assumed was an aircraft hangar. She decided that she was probably looking through the eyes of the four skulls the Valeyard had acquired to match Charley's. If so, none were currently occupying the missing bomber. In fact, there appeared to be a chance that the Valeyard had lost control of the aircraft, if it should have been in the empty hangar. She saw the Valeyard shake his head at something.

His attention was so focused on a small monitor that he didn't notice their approach, even though Kim made no effort to be particularly stealthy. She was about ten feet from the man when the Master placed a hand on her shoulder to signal her to stop. He stepped past her, and cleared his throat.

The Valeyard straightened and spun, eyes widening as he saw the duo. He took in Kim's clothing with a frown, and studied the Master's face closely before speaking. "Well, what's this? I thought you had expired by now." He frowned, "Except...never mind, how did you manage to abduct Miss Possible, or did you? Or is this some attempt to trick me?"

The Master spread his hands with a slight shrug. "As to my continued existence, I have no explanation."

The Valeyard's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "That seems hardly likely! You must have found a way...Bah! Right now, I'd rather know what _she's_ doing here! I'm not entirely happy to have her here, you know!"

The Master seemed genuinely surprised. "Not happy to have your arch-foe at your mercy? I must confess, my dear Valeyard, your behavior is very puzzling!"

"That's because I am trying my best not to let my previous personae emerge, and the best way to do that is to indulge their desires, no matter how I personally feel! And three of them would like to see that young lady humiliated, or dead, or both! And one would like any death suffered to be long and painful! Having her here, and not fulfilling their wishes...All right, we'll deal with that in a minute! Tell me how you secured her."

"With a little assistance, I abducted her children and brought them here. After that it was a simple matter to persuade her to accompany me here, voluntarily!"

Dray's face showed his doubts in accepting that story."Assistance from whom?"

"Ah! Well, you remember, of course, trapping those Ar'Ithane whom you duped into aiding your scheme? Well, the one who got away was desperate to free his fellows, and was amenable to an arrangement!"

Surprise appeared on Dray's face, while shocked horror dominated Kim's expression. "He helped you take my babies? How could he?" she shouted angrily.

"Miss Possible, please!" the Master replied, in an apologetic manner, "Why did he choose his own people over you? I would think his choice was clear!" He gazed around, as did Dray, "Where are you? You've fulfilled your end of the arrangement, time to collect your reward!" the Master called.

For nearly a minute, nothing happened, but then a form began to coalesce before them. When finished, it had the appearance of a featureless silvery-gray humanoid, just as the Leader...Kim frowned, abruptly suspicious. "I'm here, and now I expect you to keep your word, as I kept mine!"

Dray looked quizzically at the Master, who explained, "He has sworn his oath, that once released, his people will leave without attempting retaliation against us. The remainder of his people, those who came to investigate matters here, have already left, having ended their commitment to monitor humanity's interactions with other races."

Dray nodded thoughtfully, then looked at the Ar'Ithane. "Well, let me take you to where your colleagues are being held." He led the way out of the monitor room, and into the laboratory. He headed immediately to a metal sphere designed to resemble a multi-faceted gemstone, with alternating red and blue facets, each with a small yellow light in the center. "Just a minute, while I make sure the interface remains stable during the release!" He began manipulating a small control panel.

Kim frowned. Angry as she was with the alien, she was suspicious at the Valeyard's actions. "I wouldn't trust him too much..." she began, just as the Valeyard suddenly shifted to one side. A bright beam of light shot from the sphere and struck the Ar'Ithane, who didn't have time to make a sound before he disappeared. Kim turned her fiercest glare on the Valeyard, only to note that he looked unhappy at his own actions.

The Master noted the odd behavior, as well. "I don't suppose I should be surprised, you didn't give _your_ word, after all, but why so glum?"

"Because I'd have truly preferred to release his people, rather then have him join them, but certain circumstances make that unwise, to put it mildly!" Dray shook his head, then looked at Kim. "Now, let's get you situated, and reunited with your children." He turned to the Master, "I'm still not sure what to make of your continued 'life', but for the moment, I need you. I need an inventory made of what assets remain to me, as I see you have expended the Crimson and Blue Yeomen, as well as my last travel capsules. Against Global Justice?" The Master nodded. "I see. Well, the cupboard is almost bare, now. As if it makes any difference!"

Dray walked over and took Kim's arm. She chose to tolerate the contact, for the moment. "Only one place your babies can be, Miss Possible, where they'd be safe and comfortable!" He led her back into the monitoring room, and then through another door, down a short corridor, and into another room containing a cell. The door to the cell was open, but the pair passed it, going through another door into a small room. A device similar to that in which the Rani had kept the girls in her lair sat in the center of the room. The Valeyard went to a control panel on it, and began studying readouts, while Kim tried not to fidget.

"I never wanted to involve you in this scheme, Miss Possible, hard as that may be for you to believe!" He spoke as he began manipulating controls, "When I first escaped the Tower, I fully intended to follow through on my original scheme, but an odd thing happened to me. When the Rani and I came to Earth, she expressed a desire to make a new life for herself here, and I pretended to have the same intentions. In truth I thought her choice pathetic, to live among such a primitive people and not try to dominate them. I of course had different plans! To destroy mankind, the Doctor's favorite race, as the ultimate blow to him!"

As the low humming from the machine changed note, he looked her in the face. "And, as Manof Yasler, I nearly succeeded! After your defeat of me, and my regeneration...well, you defeated me, yet again! And I escaped into the past, determined to repeat the same plan, but with a much improved chance of success. But, after becoming Edward Dray, and living without a hint of my other personae for nearly twenty years, I came to see the appeal of the Rani's notion, to forget the past, and make a life for myself."

He sighed, "When the date on which we both arrived here approached, I became apprehensive, fearful that my other personae would certainly manifest, yet they didn't, nor did I detect any instabilities of any kind. And I began to truly consider just remaining Edward Dray, and serving this country. Which, I may add, I had done to the best of my ability, up until then, if not for the right motives!"

The lid of the machine lifted slightly, with a hiss. Kim stepped forward, but the Valeyard held one hand up. "Not yet, Miss Possible! As I was saying, I was seriously thinking of forgetting my plans, until the day came, five years ago, that one of my other personae manifested, resulting in murder! Easily sated, he became dormant again, but two months later, another came forth! And after that, I could no longer harbor the illusion of living a life here, so I reverted to my original plans. Which, I repeat, originally did not include you. Ah, here we go!"

The lid rose upwards, and Kim moved forward to peer inside, to see the girls lying peacefully asleep within the machine. She reached in carefully to take Amy up, but tensed when Dray reached for Milly. He looked at her, half-apologetically, and commented, "Well, you shouldn't carry both, in your condition, should you?" Kim scowled, her feelings in turmoil, but she eventually nodded, and they returned to the room with the cell again.

The Valeyard talked as they walked. "I did have a contingency plan to eliminate you, I'll admit. One you are fully aware of, the poisoning. But, I preferred not to involve you, lest my luck regarding you prove no better then the first two times. And that was not my best move, since it made, as I've said, three of my previous selves restless within me. Then, I lost the first piece of my plan, Armand Macheles, and you were there."

They had stopped outside the cell door as he said this. He gestured for her to enter. The cell contained a bunk, which seemed to have a surprisingly thick mattress, a sink, and apparently a toilet, screened from view by a four foot tall partition. "That triggered a reversion to one of my earlier selves. At the time, I kept a log of my actions, which they would inevitably access, in the belief that they would act in accordance with 'my' plans, continuing them in my absence. The necessary procedure for activating the plot to kill you was on it, and he chose to activate it. You may choose to believe that or not, it hardly matters"

Dray laid Milly on the bunk, the baby girl still asleep. Kim set Amy down as well, and contemplated attacking the Valeyard now, and making her break for it with the babies. But, she was now thinking of the trapped aliens, and the disturbance outside, as well as the Master, whom she didn't trust at all. She simply didn't have enough information to go on, to risk so much so soon.

Dray was frowning at a box lying beside the bunk. "That contains a...costume, that my Manof Yasler persona obtained, in case you fell into his hands. Though I disapprove of it, I want you to put it on while I try and find you some things you may need for your children. But first I want your word, that as long as _this_ persona of mine is dominant, you will not try and escape here. I promise not to do any harm to you, or your children, as long as you do not try and escape. I won't ask you not to interfere with my plans, because frankly, I don't have any, at the moment. I know this request goes against your nature, but will you give me your word?"

Kim stared at him, biting her lip. It did go against her nature, that was true. But, she had the babies to think of. She had no idea what monsters the Valeyard might still have within his lair. And then there was her Team. They'd be looking for her. She'd already realized that with time moving faster where she was, compared to where they were, that it might be some time before they would come, if they came at all. And the reminder of the Valeyard's multiple personalities was no comfort, either. The idea of being trapped in a cell at the mercy of 'GoGore' filled her with dread. She made up her mind.

"Can you arrange things so that this cell will open, if one of your other personae takes control?" the question caught him off guard, and he took a moment before answering. "Actually...yes, I can. Very Well, if you agree, I will arrange that condition. So, what's your answer?"

"On that condition, you have my word!" Kim stated.

Dray nodded, "Very well, Miss Possible!" He exited the cell, moving towards the laboratory door. Six feet from the cell, he opened a small panel, and punched a code into a small keypad. The cell door slid shut. "I'll be back in about ten minutes or so, Miss Possible, please be changed by then. I'll try to be as reasonable as possible regarding your privacy and comfort, without compromising my own security, of course."

Kim walked to the bars, as she heard him leave the room. "_Controls out of reach, and no idea what these bars are made of, even if I had anything to work with!"_ She turned and went back to the bunk, looking at her sleeping babies briefly, before turning to the box, and opening it. Her eyes widened as she beheld what was within. "You've got to be kid...this is so wrongsick!"

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Please Read and Review.


	34. Waiting and learning

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

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"Listen, this is _not_ in my job description, as far as I'm concerned! Protect and Serve, great! Fool around in a house where some kind of freaky phenomenon is happening, no way! I don't even want to be here guarding the place!" The extremely vocal police officer's partner nodded in agreement. The old brownstone they stood in front of was in Norborough, the predictably named Northern borough of Go City. It had been unoccupied for many years, though some people had the vague memory of someone occupying it no more then two years ago. Borough records, however, said otherwise.

"Excuse me?" Both policemen looked at the man who had suddenly appeared at the foot of the front steps, while they were distracted by their own conversation. He was dressed casually, and didn't seem familiar to either of them. "My name is Kedden, Professor Kedden? I was asked to look into some matter or another at this address, but I was in such a hurry, I left my Identification at home! I'll just pop back there and collect it, shouldn't be more than an hour or so!" He turned to leave, but both officers started down the steps after him.

"Wait, Professor!" The vocal one called, "You don't have to worry about that, really! If you're here to figure out what's going on, please, just go ahead in!" His partner nodded an enthusiastic agreement.

Professor Kedden wavered uncertainly. "Well, I really prefer to do things properly, you know." He looked up at the house, "But, with all these strange things occurring, perhaps it would be better not to wait."

"Absolutely, Professor! No reason to wait, there's no telling how dangerous things might get, if you let them wait!" The vocal officer took Kedden by one arm, and began to steer him up the steps to the front door. "You just go on in, and see if you know what the...what's going on inside, right?" He opened the front door, while stepping well back from it, and gestured for the Professor to enter.

"Well, if you're certain..." and with a rather strong nudge in the back to assist him, Kedden entered the house. He was barely clear of the door when the officer reached in and pulled it shut, just short of slamming it.

"Well!" Doctor Drakken muttered to himself, "That was depressingly easy!" He looked around the foyer, before advancing cautiously further into the house. "_How can I even remember this place? If I'm correct in my belief as to the identity of this home, these memories should belong to a copy of me that was erased from existence, if Ronald's memories are correct. Still, I did come here on my own instincts, which must mean something!" _The house was unfurnished, no surprise considering the length of time it had stood empty.

To his left, the hall opened into what was apparently meant to be the living room, and it was here that he saw the first signs of the disturbance. A shimmer, or rippling, of the air, about three feet above the floor, beginning in the center of the room, and appearing to extend through another doorway towards the rear of the house. Drakken looked down the hall. It opened at the end into what was obviously the kitchen, as he could clearly see a refrigerator. He saw no sign of the disturbance through the door, though he suspected from the layout that the kitchen connected with the room the disturbance extended into.

He moved cautiously into the living room, sliding sideways along the wall, until he determined the dimensions of the disturbance. As he worked his way around, he began to discern a shape to it, and made what was to him a logical guess. "_A wormhole! Small, maybe a meter in diameter, but...no, I don't think this is a terminus! I believe this is just a section of a longer whole, only this bit being visible here. Yet, this is where Stoppable probably initiated his ill-fated little time trip, so it should by rights be an 'end'."_

Unfortunately, he couldn't see how far it extended into the next room from this angle, and it took up too much of the doorway for him to want to risk squeezing past it. "Well!" He said aloud, "Just have to go through the kitchen!" He turned around and nearly jumped out of his skin whenhe found the Doctor standing behind him. The same Doctor who had taken them to the sphere, but considerably aged. Face lined, hair graying, waistline a bit wider, but the same intense gaze. Clothes more somber as well, no umbrella, no hat.

"Sorry to startle you," The Time Lord apologized, "But I believe I owe you an explanation of how this came to be." He gestured at the wormhole. "Let's go in the kitchen and sit while we talk, the only chairs left in the house are in there." Drakken hesitated, then nodded and followed the Doctor.

The chairs in question were the folding kind, suitable for setting up a quick card game, or accommodating unexpected guests whose comfort one wasn't too concerned about. They were old, with paint worn off in many spots from their metal frames, the padded seat cushions displaying cracked covers, with the minimal stuffing poking out. But Drakken sank onto one gratefully, his knees feeling none too steady. The Doctor sat in the other, and looked at Drakken expectantly. Marshaling his thoughts, Drakken put forth his first question. "This has something to do with this so-called 'Time Monkey', which we all assumed was a creation of Ron Stoppable's imagination, am I right?"

The Time Lord beamed at him. "Yes, indeed it does! Though I point out that it was not meant to represent a terrestrial monkey, but a similar species native to another world, known as a Geronian Trodex." He sighed, an dlooked penitent. "Which I made. A class porject at the Academy, meant to travel to another world, collect a biological specimen as proof, and return to the classroom. Within a proper containment field, of course!"

"But something went wrong?" Drakken asked speculatively.

"Oh, yes! You see, I was very fond of a certain sweet back then. Start chewing on it, and it could last for hours! But, I wasn't supposed to be chewing on one in the classroom! My instructor became suspicious, you see, and tried to sneak up and catch me out, but something gave me warning. So, I took the sweet from my mouth and stuck it inside my project, closing the access panel on it. At which point it became active and dematerialized." He finished with a sheepish grin and a helpless shrug.

"Accidentally activating it?" Drakken shook his head. "I know _that _feeling!" He lamented fervently.

"Not only activating it, but jamming up the mechanism!" The Doctor replied mournfully. "It took off through time and space on a random path. Going to a planet, collecting a specimen, then going on to the next world, where it dropped off that specimen, collected another, and...well you can guess the rest."

"Hmm. But, how does it end up involving Ronald?"

"Well, it arrived in 19th century America, in the west. The creature it brought with it started some wild legends, I can assure you! It was then found by a man, a failed writer of science fiction, though it wasn't referred to as such then. A disciple of Verne, among other writers. Anyway, it selected him as it's new specimen, and transported him, but only in time. It brought him to the 20th century where, due to his open mind and quick wits, he managed not to get locked up as a madman, and eventually made a life for himself, while keeping the _Tempus Simia,_ the name he chose for it, hidden away."

"Now, when he learned that he was not long for this world, he sought someone to take care of the device, someone trustworthy. I'm not at all sure why he thought of Kim Possible as a suitable candidate, to be honest. But he contacted her. UNfortunately, her mother had grounded her for medical reasons, but since the man had implied that no danger was involved, Ron decided to go solo. He met the man, and was shown the Time Monkey."

"Which he somehow managed to activate." Drakken meant it as a statement, not a guess.

The Doctor shrugged. "Or, it simply chose him as it's new specimen! In any event, it once again traveled only in time, not space, and took Ron to that future you saw. It didn't take him long to realize it was a bad place to be. He tried to reactivate the monkey, but all he managed to do was activate it's beacon, which drew my previous incarnation there. Which created the problem you just witnessed in the other room. You see, my last incarnation had many flaws, not that I'm denying possessing a few myself!" He hastily added, with a weary smile, "In my previous self, Pomposity, arrogance, and impatience, to name the most important in this case."

He leaned back, briefly casting his gaze upwards at the ceiling, before meeting Drakken's eyes again. "He was in a rush, you see, to take his companion, Peri Brown, Lovely girl, to some place or other to see the sights! Honestly can't remember where, but I know we never got there! Suddenly getting a signal from our long-lost school project was an annoyance to him, where as I...it doesn't matter."

He clapped his hands on his knees and stood up, beginning to drift aimlessly around the kitchen as he spoke. "He didn't think things through, he did the first 'clever' thing that came to his mind, just setting the probe to reverse it's path, and go right back to the classroom from which it was inadvertently launched, all that time ago!" He opened a cabinet and peered within as if seeking something, then closed it with a sigh, "A TARDIS never retraces it's own path, ever! Even when repeating a journey, it makes changes in it's course. I believe I once told a friend that even if I traveled from...well, let's say, Middleton to Upperton? The TARDIS would probably take a loop or two around the moon on the way."

"Because by returning by the same path, it would in a way be perpetually present at one point in time, coming and going?" Drakken asked.

The Doctor regarded him with mild surprise. "Not quite, but an excellent guess, considering your level of scientific knowledge in the matter! But, yes, it left that...tunnel, wormhole, whichever you choose to call it, in it's path. Of course, it only manifests like that due to external influence, such as what's happening now out in the bay! But, you could build a machine that could allow you to access it, and travel along the path it represents, forwards to that terrible future, or into the past, to the home of that eighteenth century writer, or onwards...to the planet one day known as Gerusis Five, a human colony that never caught on, despite several tries. Or possibly all the way back to Gallifrey!" He opened another cabinet and looked within. "And now, it's obstructing the Valeyard's plan."

Drakken's eyes widened. "How so? And, do you know what that plan is?"

The Doctor's face was grim. "In reverse order, he's trying to collapse that world back to this point in time, and merge it partially with this one. That explosion out there stretches forward in time, and for some reason he wants all that power here and now. It can't be to reenact the sam eplan that failed before, this is something entirely new. But due to his ignorance of that little wormhole, his attempt is being held up, as if the wormhole was a 'prop', preventing that world from collapsing. But, it won't hold forever. Now, you may have noticed that I'm an older version of the Doctor you know best. I know how this should turn out, but I can't tell you any more. As I said, I believed I owed you an explanation, feel free to share it with the others." He walked over to the back door.

"How much of that future do you think Ronald remembers, or will remember?" Drakken asked, rising to his feet.

The Doctor didn't answer, but checked his pocket watch, then opened the door. He paused as he stepped across the threshold, and favored Drakken with a gaze that seemed to be looking well past the scientist into a distant future. "Goodbye, Doctor Drakken, Drew Lipsky. Choose your future path with care, or you may regret it deeply." Then he was gone, the door closing soundlessly behind him.

Drakken stared at the door for several minutes, before shaking his head. "That bit of advice has applied to me all of my life, Doctor. And I have yet to learn any lessons from it!" He turned and went back towards the front door. The two officers were standing at the curb, leaning on their cruiser, when he emerged. They seemed vaguely surprised that he had come out. He gave them a stern look. "This place needs to be sealed up, until the emergency is over! Call your superior, he needs to put someone on the back door, as well!"

They looked at each other, and grimaced in unison. "Prof, that means finding a landline, all wireless communications are down, radio, cellphones, everything!"

Drakken looked around the streets. The only people in sight appeared to be loading belongings into their vehicles. "_The flight instinct dominant, eh? Not sure I blame them at all!"_ But not everyone would be fleeing, he thought. The stubborn ones, and the opportunists, and those constrained by responsibilities they couldn't abandon, even now, would stay, at least for a while.

He returned his attention to the officers. "Well, it would be extremely dangerous for anyone to go inside, that's all I'm saying, you decide what's necessary! I have to go report my findings in person, it seems." He strode past them and headed back towards the hospital. The Doctor's words bothered him, which he readily realized may have been their very purpose. He hesitated briefly, then began to march more forcefully along, looking around for a cab, though they seemed to be in precious short supply. "_I sincerely hope I won't regret walking _this _path!"_

00000000000

In the video archive of Go City's Channel Eight TV station, an employee was startled to suddenly find an entire shelf full of tapes that hadn't been present ten minutes before. He became almost certain he was being played when he found time codes on some dating from up to ten months in the future. But, he notified his boss, and the two watched one of the tapes. And then another. They called the station manager down, and ran two more, at which point the manager called New York. Routing the signal by line outside the city to a satellite relay unaffected by the wireless blackout, he transmitted several minutes of footage.

After getting him to swear it wasn't a hoax, New York ordered the remaining tapes to be either relayed to them, or copied, and copies brought to New York by messenger, immediately.

A similar event occurred in the City Library's magazine archive, and again, after initial belief that it was a hoax, measures were taken to preserve the magazines.

Almost every newspaper in town began to find similar anomalies, including items popping up on various computers, columns and articles dated months in the future. Again, word was sent out.

Any thought that it was all a hoax dissipated immediately when a minor earthquake occurred in China exactly as reported in several of the discovered articles. Other events did not conform, however, but these were all man-made, and the discrepancies explained easily enough.

For the record, however, the two teenagers who found themselves in possession of a _very _advance copy of the **'Zombegeddon II' **video game kept it entirely to themselves.

00000000000

"Anyone here seen Shego, or any of those Team Possible people?" A nurse manning the main desk on the floor where Team Go had been called out to the people still bustling around her. "I've got a phone call, here, says he's Mego!"

"They're up on the roof right now!" Lia Espartero responded, pushing through the crowd to reach the desk. "Let me take it, please!" After a moment's hesitation, the nurse handed her the phone. Lia turned her back on the nurse, holding the phone close to her mouth. "Warren? It's Lia, what's up?" She listened for a bit, becoming excited as she did. "Yeah, I got it! I'll get upstairs and tell them, right away! I'll tell them where you're waiting, don't worry!" She handed the phone back to the nurse, and dashed for the elevators.

00000000000

The hospital's rooftop helipad was not in use. It's normal traffic consisted of patients flown in from outside the city, and now that traffic was being routed elsewhere. Team Possible, now assembled, along with the Wegos and Doctor Director, were using the helipad for a staging area. They were gathered at the moment around the ship's open port hatch, half seated on the ground, the rest standing.

"Somehow, I think the Doctor is still keeping things from us, and following his own agenda." Belle Reeder commented.

Charley rolled her eyes. "Agreed! But, I'm not going to pretend to be smart enough to figure one of _his_ plans out!"

"I'd hesitate to make such a claim myself, Miss Cob!" they all turned to see Doctor Drakken ascending the steps to the landing platform, Lia Espartero beside him. "This young lady has an important message, it seems, so don't waste time asking me why I returned, since I'm not entirely sure I can answer you!"

Lia went straight to Shego. "Ana, Warren called! He's at a convenience store on Steel Pier Road, near the old aircraft plant. He says the guy who kidnapped Kim took her on a boat, and headed into the bay, but he was shrunk, and couldn't get a look at where they went, exactly!"

"Well, why didn't he grow up!" Ron asked, anxiously.

Shego shook her head, "Because he probably went out and had a couple of drinks last night, though where he found...anyway, alcohol in his system can sometimes lock up his powers, usually after he shrinks, he can't return to normal! Not sure why alcohol has never bothered me, at least before I got a grip on my powers." She cast a baleful glance at the Wegos, "And I had better not hear that you've been doing any experimenting along those lines, hear?" The pair made 'who, me' gestures and rolled their eyes when her glare didn't relent.

"Okay," Charley spoke loudly, for all to hear, "Let's pick Mego up, and check locations in the bay they could have gone to! Everyone who's coming, get aboard!" And everyone did board, save Lia, who gave them a wave as Thundagirl lifted off.

"There are only two likely places, if we exclude Go West Island." Shego announced, "Go East Island, and Sheer Island. Sheer is up at the north end of the bay, though, and has some homes on it, so Go East must be it!" She paused, "Maybe we should go straight there, we don't..." she broke off and shook her head, "No, can't leave Warren out, let's get him!"

They reached the spot quickly enough, despite the large volume of helicopter traffic around the city. Military, Police and civilian models were buzzing all around the area. "Keeping an eye on all these Sunday pilots, T-Girl?" Shego asked, as they began to descend towards Mego, waving at them from the shore.

"Yes." The abrupt answer, which seemed distracted, drew attention. As they touched down, and Mego leaped aboard, Charley asked, "Something wrong, T-Girl?"

"I'm looking at two groups of helicopters that seem to be racing each other, probably heading for Go East Island. They're red-lining their engines, that's for sure! Both groups are flying Blackhawks, one group clearly marked as US Air Force, the other unmarked. And, they're going to get there before us!"

"Hell! I'm sorry, Ana! If you hadn't come to get me..." Warren began, apologetically.

"Don't worry about that now! Thundagirl! Get us there, fast as you can!"

00000000000

On a rooftop overlooking the bay, the seventh Doctor stood, watching the small black dots of the helicopters roaring towards Go East, and the larger dot of Thundagirl approaching from the opposite direction. He wasn't the 'old' version Drakken had met in the empty house, but the younger one that had taken them to the sphere. He sighed, and spoke softly to himself, "It looks like they'll get there, but are they enough?" A voice behind him made him start.

"Enough to do what exactly, Doctor?" The Ar'Ithane leader stood there, his blank face revealing nothing of his feelings. "What did you do with them, while you were gone? There is an odd...feel, to them, now."

The Doctor sighed wearily as he faced the other. "I'm afraid I made them into my weapons against the Valeyard! I turned them all, including the ship, into 'dampers', if you will. It's possible they'll be enough to keep what's about to happen from spreading beyond that island. But, I've no idea how truly powerful the effect will be, so I can't be certain!"

"And what will the cost to them be, Doctor? And how did you know they'd even be here to act as 'dampers' for the blast?"

The Doctor smiled sadly. "As to the first, I have no idea. But the risk had to be taken! For the second, it's their nature to be at such places, somewhat like myself!" He looked back out at the bay. "I simply had no other option, with the information at my disposal!" He looked at the Leader, and his shoulders slumped. "I have to go, can't be here when it happens, me or the TARDIS!"

As the Doctor left the rooftop, descending to where he'd parked his ship, the Leader gazed into the bay, committing what he saw to memory. Then the sounds of the TARDIS dematerializing came from below. After a moment, the Leader looked towards Go East, nodded decisively, and vanished in turn.

Moments later, the door to the roof opened and the Doctor re-emerged. Seeing the rooftop empty, he smiled grimly and nodded in satisfaction. From his pocket he pulled a small device and concentrated on it briefly. Moments later, the TARDIS re-materialized in front of him. He quickly entered his ship, and it was soon gone yet again.

Please Read and Review.


	35. Stakes established

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

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The Rani was again the center of a teleconference, with the same assemblage of personages on screen, save one. The shadowed female from previously had been replaced by another person, though the indirect lighting revealed enough to determine this one was a nearly bald man, with distinctively large ears. All were paying rapt attention to another video feed, this one coming via cable out of Go City.

Mayor Lewis was being interviewed by one of the network news anchors in New York. "Mister Mayor, so far the information contained in these 'future news' items has been validated twice, by the earthquake, and the collapse of a public shelter in Puerto Rico under the onslaught of a hurricane. But, are you ready to accept everything you've seen contained in these videos? Especially the one you've just showed us clips from?"

"Yes I am! There were images of me in some of these clips, that _are _me, but I have no recollection of the events depicted. In addition, there is the discovery of more items, depicting events that are dated in the last few months, that we know didn't happen, but tie in with the future items. For instance, Miss Kim Possible being involved in a terrible plane crash under suspicious circumstances! Numerous articles have turned up, depicting the media's coverage of her very long recovery from grievous injuries! Even the _Imposer_ has discovered some stories written in their particular style, on the subject! And now this video tape of what is obviously a memorial tribute to her, after her death, along with one of her team and Shego, saving this city from disaster, a disaster which resulted in that bizarre pillar of fire out in our bay."

"And this 'Doctor' the girl refers to, in the video clip from inside Go Tower?"

"Well, due to Shego's involvement, I might suggest that it is a reference to Doctor Drakken, odd as that may sound.(The Rani snorted in amusement) Someone managed to come up with a way to contain the destructive forces unleashed, and despite his criminal history, no one denies Drakken's scientific genius."

The anchor nodded in acknowledgement, "And now, you propose that the villain behind this, the scientist mentioned by Team Possible's representative this morning, whoever he might be, has used some kind of extraterrestrial science to try and change history, over this short period?"

HooDoo spread his hands wide. "I'm not a scientist, obviously! My suggestion sounds like pure science fiction, I know, but it covers what we know, at least!"

"I believe that is all we need to hear of Mayor Lewis' interview!" Brigadier MacLaren stated, cutting off the feed. "Remarkably accurate guess on his part, any chance he was cued in by someone?"

"Possibly!" His American counterpart replied, "But if not, it's unlikely he came up with that answer all on his own, he's probably paraphrasing his advisors, or something."

"Well, in any event, we'll have to decide sooner or later how to explain things to the public! London and Tokyo have already made it official that some contact has occurred between man and alien, so we're not as constrained as we used to be! By the way, Rani, we're getting readings from inside Go City now, they're being displayed on your console now."

Quinton Grade spoke up. "I consider the actions of the British and Japanese, and now the German government, extremely ill-advised, with regard to those announcements! There was no need..."

"Oh, give it a rest! It was inevitable the public would be told, no one's going to blame you for having it happen on your watch, Grade!" UNIT-USA snapped.

Quinton Grade's face flushed red, but he never had a chance to respond, because the Rani suddenly shouted angrily, "That's impossible! It's utterly impossible!" She was staring at an odd energy waveform being depicted on one of the monitors.

"What's impossible, Rani?" MacLaren asked, focusing his own attention on the display.

"That...that's _my_ mutagenic waveform! A secret I've never, ever shared with another living being! It's in standby mode, being contained...yes, contained! The loss of wireless communication in Go City is not due to random interference, but deliberate suppression, within a containment field being generated from...well, not that island you suspect the Valeyard's on, but somewhere close to it, probably underwater!"

Several of her audience tried to speak at once, but she silenced them with a sharp gesture. "Yes, I said mutagenic, but it's not a random effect! It only alters subjects possessing specific traits of the user's choice! This version..." She studied it with growing unease, "Unfortunately, is for culling! Those of the target species that don't match the parameters will die from it's effect! But I don't understand it! The Valeyard couldn't know about it, yet alone program it for a specific use!"

"I believe you have said that the Valeyard has a great deal of scientific knowledge!" Grade snapped accusingly.

The Rani shook her head angrily. "But not the ability to use it! I mean, he knows the principle, but not the application! I was surprised to hear that he had come up with a workable plan to eradicate mankind, to be honest! At best, I could have seen him plotting to trigger a nuclear war, or something similar, to cause their destruction, but not...well, I don't know how he intended to carry it out, do I?"

"Actually, he stole a number of ideas, and combined some of them into what was in fact a simple and elegant method." UNIT-USA responded, "His contributions to the Air Force's projects were also ideas, allegedly developed by independent think tanks, but it was the scientists on the projects who found ways to implement what he gave them. He provided them with fabricated 'test results', and the like, to prove the ideas' feasibility, and they took it from there."

"Just the way he seems to have stolen a number of 'weapons', almost randomly, and thrown them at Global Justice, and now Go City and Team Possible?" MacLaren observed.

"Then where did he get the idea for this?" The disguised Wade Load asked, as a new image came up on one screen. The picture showed Kim and a battered Charley bracing Shego as she fired concentrated plasma at the protective shield on the device until it shattered, revealing the three elements aligned in the containment field. Taken by Go Tower's internal security cameras, it was the clip that the MAyor had previously referred to.

The Rani actually looked abashed. "I believe...he may have gotten it from me!" She looked frantically at the five faces looking back at her from the screens. "Let me explain! I remember...I'm remembering, rather, how I died there!"

"The Valeyard killed you, but you said you didn't recognize him." Steadfast MacLaren reminded her.

"I lied...No! I mean, I didn't speak the truth, but I said what I believed to be the truth! Give me a moment, something's affected my memories, and I think it's a deliberate act!" Some of those watching switched to private channels for brief exchanges while the Rani sorted through her thoughts. "I _did_ know him! He sought me out, because he was troubled...I think! I'd just finished collecting the Tempusite, he'd never been interested in my doings before, but now he asked me about it. I told him about it, just to shut him up, I had little patience for him, and only that because he saved me from Gallifrey's destruction!"

"At first, he seemed fairly uninterested. But, then he asked if it could be used for destructive purposes, and I, like a fool, told him it could! But the method I depicted to him was threadbare. Distribute active particles over the area you wished to affect, then send a powered pulse fueled by Tempusite through the area. I never thought he intended such a thing, or that he could do it, in any event! And he couldn't, not on his own!" She held up a hand as Grade opened his mouth to interrupt, "And he asked if it would mean total annihilation, and that's when I began to realize he was serious. I said yes, while watching his reaction. And he said, 'Well! That's better then my plan! Would you mind if I took your Tempusite?', exactly those words! And when I refused, outraged, he said he'd expected that, and killed me!"

"Yet you maintain he was incapable of building that device, on his own?" MacLaren asked.

She shook her head emphatically. "Absolutely not! It was not in him, because we made sure of it, when we created him! I mean, it took him seven years the first time, didn't it? Using science, that is. Again, he might have done it in other ways quite successfully. But, if what we know of Miss Possible's defeat of him is true, he came up with a new plan, quite quickly!" She paused thoughtfully. "But if you subtract the Tempusite from his plan, what would you have had..." Then her musings were interrupted.

"Yet you deny being responsible for this 'wave' appearing, here and now?" Grade asked skeptically.

"I never shared my own mutagenic process with anyone, Mister Grade, nor did I ever record it anywhere! The only place it could have existed outside my own brain was in the Gallifreyan Matrix, and it's back-up copy!" She scanned their collective faces, then began to speak, as a teacher to a class, "Do you know the origin of the Time Lords? Of course not, my apologies! When Rassilon, and others, gained the secrets of time, and the power to exploit them, they decided that in order to make use of them, we needed to undergo changes, both Physical and otherwise, for our bodies to endure the possible hardships involved."

"After much research, those who chose to became reborn, literally, as the first Time Lords! But Rassilon himself did not undergo the transformation, though he never explained why! But the vast majority of Gallifreyans remained 'normal'. Why is that relevant here? Because the human race, in all the known universe, is the closest genetic match to the original people of Gallifrey."

She pointed dramatically at the monitor showing the waveform. "_That_ can be spread by a powerful enough explosion, gentlemen, such as the anti-matter, Strange Matter blast the Valeyard was originally supposed to set off! But he apparently was aware that some people would survive, a very small percentage of the population, so when I gave him a method that would ensure total annihilation, he changed the plan! And someone actively set out to stop him, because the destruction of humanity was not _their_ intent! It couldn't use the Doctor for the purpose, lest he discover the true plan. Charley Cob and her friends were apparently the best it could do, in the circumstances!"

"'It', Rani?" MacLaren asked, a dawning suspicion in his eyes.

She regarded him with a grim face, "Yes, Brigadier, 'It'. The Gallifreyan Matrix is using the Valeyard. It must seem like the perfect irony to it. He survived Gallifrey's fall, while all the 'true' Time Lords died, save me, and the Doctor, of course, and now it's using him to try and bring them back!"

While exclamations of shock issued from three of her audience, MacLaren just nodded grimly, and Wade's fake image remained motionless. "That's right, Gentlemen! The Matrix is trying to recreate the Time Lords, and validate it's own reason for existence, even if it destroys the rest of humanity in the process!" The Rani announced, a mixture of triumph and apprehension on her face.

"But how! It's ridiculous!" Grade spluttered.

The Rani shook her head, "I'm not entirely sure how, except another explosion is needed, at least as powerful...oh! Not another explosion, the _same _explosion! If there is a way to release it from the containment the Doctor held it within...it's trapped temporally _and_ spatially, though! Something would have to open a relatively localized hole in the fabric of the continuum, to breach containment, but what could it be?"

"You're saying, if the explosion occurs, that 'Mutagenic wave' of yours will turn some of our people into Time Lords, while killing everyone else? Over how large an area?" The other shadowed individual's voice was disguised, but clearly agitated.

"Theoretically? Possibly the whole world! And I estimate the survival rate as approximately one in 9 thousand, perhaps. No higher then that, I'm almost certain. And no, they wouldn't _be _Time Lords, the change would be purely physical. However, the Matrix could then link with them, and teach the survivors the knowledge to _become_ Time Lords eventually."

"But this containment field around Go City? Maybe it wants to limit the area of effect?" UNIT-USA asked hopefully.

The Rani shook her head. "Not powerful enough! It might let the wave build momentum, however, and that may be it's purpose! At least I now know why the Doctor hasn't intervened directly! He and that TARDIS of his are a pair of rogues, and over time, they've managed to learn to shield themselves from the Matrix link. But not if he comes in direct contact with it, or someone linked to it, as I believe the Valeyard now is. In that case, all the Doctor's plans would be instantly known to the Matrix! So, he's using proxies to fight his battle. The same ones the Matrix first used to thwart the Valeyard, in fact!" She shook her head, "And only one incarnation of the Doctor was such a user of people, so I know who's pulling those strings! He can't even directly tell them anything, without the Matrix knowing, so he's playing it coy, feeding them clues, trying to nudge them in the right direction! And not lingering in any one place for very long, he has to keep on the move."

"What about you, aren't you now 'linked' to this Matrix?" Wade's persona asked.

The Rani shook her head. "For some reason, the link hasn't been established to my new incarnation! We always know when it is! I wonder...does anyone know how Charley Cob connected with the Matrix in the first place?"

"According to her, through one of her 'skulls'." Wade replied.

The Rani nodded thoughtfully. "And one of them tried to kill me, didn't it? I suppose I'm worth sacrificing, as far as the Matrix is concerned, to achieve it's objective."

"You mean to say, the Matrix is connected to Miss Cob's 'skulls'? We have to warn her!" MacLaren exclaimed.

The Rani raised one eyebrow. "And how do you propose to do that, Brigadier?" She shook her head, "I suspect, and you may be able to confirm, that the Matrix still aided them to remove the Tempusite from the Valeyard's reach?"

Steadfast MacLaren nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "It's quite possible! And then it encouraged the Valeyard to try and eliminate Team Possible, in case they interfered further? Foolish, if it hadn't attacked them, if it wasn't the Valeyard that ordered the attack in the Yucatan, they might not have gotten further involved in it's plans!"

"It was foolish, whichever one of them did it!" The Rani replied. "Though, the onset of the visions, or the interest of the Ar'Ithane may have brought them further into it, anyway!" She grew thoughtful. "I wonder if the Matrix has full control over him, or just some of his personae?" she mused, "It's possible it only has influence on his two most recent incarnations. Further, has it been linked with his latest from it's inception? Bah! So much speculation, I detest such uncertainty!"

Unnoticed by the others, the screen with Wade's false persona on it went blank.

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Wade pushed himself back from the keyboard, picked up his Slurpster, and took in about half of it in one continuous pull. After swallowing all that, he gasped, "Wow! Do you think we have enough?" From behind him came the sound of someone else taking an even longer pull on a Slurpster, and he turned to look at the Seventh Doctor, seated in another swivel chair, who beamed at him.

"Do you think you can compress all that enough to squeeze it through our window of opportunity?" The Time Lord asked.

Wade grinned, and cracked his knuckles. "No problem! Think the owners will be angry about their satellite burning out when we do it?" He turned back to the keyboards, and began typing industriously.

"Not at all! They're already fully aware it has flaws, they only hoped it would last long enough to pay for itself! Which it has, by the way, if only just. And this way, no dangerous debris will fall into Earth's atmosphere. _And_ it's in a very good cause!"

"Got you!" Wade finished typing, and looked at the Doctor expectantly. "All ready!"

"Then Execute, Mister Load!" The Doctor ordered. A grinning Wade spun back to his keyboard and hit the 'enter' key, then spun back around. "Oh! Do you have any idea how your containment of that blast is supposed to be bypassed?"

The Doctor scowled. "It's on the tip of my toes, but I can't quite see it!" He shrugged, and raised his Slurpster, "To Kim and Charley, and all the others, Godspeed!" And they solemnly slurped to success.

0000000000

Kim dearly hoped she was dreaming. She knelt on an endless white plain, beneath a clear blue sky, a baby in each arm. They were fading in and out of transparency, as pinkish-white energy visibly flowed from her shriveling body into them. But her eyes were focused on a spectacle in front of her.

A giant loom...well, loomed over her, and around it were gathered ten figures, two of whom she recognized. They appeared to be weaving threads into a pattern, or supervising the others as they did so.

An elderly man with thinning white hair stood holding the lapels of his battered suit, lecturing a young blond man with a piece of celery pinned to the lapel of his white coat, who listened poltely, with an occassional eye roll while concentrating on his task.

A tall man with long brown hair, wearing a green coat and tall boots stood next to a fellow wearing a black jumper, with short dark hair. They seemed to be swapping amusing tales with each other as they worked. A long dark shadow seemed to stretch out from the second figure.

A tall, elegantly dressed man with white hair stood picking through threads, occasionally speaking to a tall, heavyset blond man wearing an outrageous coat, and appearing to talk in a bombastic manner, but scowling every time the other spoke to him, as if offended by the interruptions of his speech. He held many threads as well, but didn't seem to be doing much with them.

A very familiar figure, short, with a straw boater on his head, and a colorful umbrella with a question-mark handle tucked under his arm, stood picking through threads as well, sometimes finding a broken one, which he would tuck under his arm, while looking around guiltily to see if the others had noticed.

Another familiar one, tall and thin, with dark hair, wearing a blue pinstripe suit under a long brown coat, was concentrating on his weaving, peering through a small pair of reading glasses. He acted as if a he was weaving alone.

Another man, short, with a mop of brown hair, wearing an oversize coat and baggy check trousers, dashed around the others, stopping to squint at the weave occasionally, mopping his face with a stained handkerchief. Then, he'd tap one of the weavers on the shoulder, whisper in their ear, and dash to a new position from which to study the weave again.

The last man strode imperiously around the others. He had a mass of curly brown hair, and wore an extremely long, multi-colored scarf around his neck, the ends dangling clear to the floor. He seemed to notice Kim, and strode over, a friendly smile on his face. He bent over, and held something out to the girl. "It's not really this simple, you know! Jelly Baby?"

Kim looked down at the small paper bag he held out to her. Then it vanished, and the only things in her field of view were a pair of bare feet. One had burn scars on it, which continued up the calf as Kim raised her eyes. The left knee was webbed with surgical scars, and there were more about her hip, as well as the opposite side of her abdomen. She knew what face she'd see before she got to it, of course. Her own.

It was her alternate self, from the other world, naked, her scars all laid bare. She knelt, looking at the babies. "Who's babies are those?" She asked, puzzled.

Kim's own voice sounded like a croak. "They're mine...they're ours!" The other Kim looked at her in mild surprise, then smiled gently and reached out to touch the children. Energy began to visibly flow from her into them. She then looked up, into Kim's eyes. "You mustn't let this happen, you know." she said, solemnly.

"How do I stop it? How do I stop this from happening to us?" Kim's voice came out a bit stronger, this time.

The other Kim frowned, and shook her head, "Not to us! Not to you, to _him!"_

And then Kim woke up.

She was laying awkwardly on the bed in her cell, both babies nestled together, enclosed by her body protectively. She had a crick in her neck, and grimaced as she carefully moved one hand to massage it. Part of her costume clinked as she did, and she silently cursed it as Milly stirred. Cursed it, and the Valeyard, for making her wear it, even if it kept his Manof Yasler persona suppressed.

With the exception of being silver and green instead of burgundy and gold, it was an exact replica of a certain famous 'slave girl' costume from the movies. The breast piece was even made out of real metal, which Kim was almost certain was lead, as heavy as it was. What her having to wear it said about Manof Yasler's personality was something she preferred not to think about.

But 'Ed Dray' had come through for the babies, providing disposable diapers, and a small cooler containing bottles of formula. He'd explained that the shelter had a matter replicator, though even he had been surprised to find the diapers in it's program. He'd also supplied some warm clothes for the babies, as the cell was a bit cool, and apologized with apparent sincerity for not giving Kim any.

He'd professed no intentions to harm her, and in fact admitted that he had no idea what to do next, save wait for some opportunity to arise. Without the TARDIS, he explained, he couldn't leave. So even if he was the cause of the increasing temporal instability, there was nothing he could do to escape it.

Kim had tried asking him questions, hoping for some useful information, actually wondering if it was possible to make him revert to his original persona, that of the First Doctor, since he was a possible ally. But the questions provoked occasional patches of confusion in her captor, with angry outbursts following them, and he had advised her to stop, lest she trigger a switch to another of his personae.

She _had _learned about the origins of the Time Lords, and the fact that babies would be Time Lords only if both parents were. And that the Doctor in his first incarnation had married a normal Gallifreyan, and had two daughters, and one granddaughter. Or at least, that was all he had had to the point the Valeyard's inherited memories ended, some time before the Doctor's flight from his home world

Finally easing the pain in her neck, Kim smiled down at her daughters, then looked at a piece of red cloth lying on the pillow. The Valeyard, after receiving her word not to abuse the privilege, had said she could hang it on the bars to request privacy, if she chose to nurse her children the natural way, or needed the privacy for other reasons. Kim had given her word, and hoped she wouldn't be forced to break it.

She pondered the Valeyard's behavior. "_Those moments of confusion suggest some kind of mind control to me, though I could be wrong, it could be a manifestation of his multiple identities. But if it is mind control, then who's doing it? I thought Charley had this all figured out, but now...she was wrong before, I have to admit, but how is she wrong now? And did that dream mean anything?"_

Amy coughed, breaking her line of thought. She tucked the blanket more snugly around the sleeping baby, and gave her a light kiss on the forehead. Then giving one to Milly as well, to be fair.

"_Can't get out of this cell! Control panel isn't in my line of sight, I don't have any mirrors or reflective surfaces to study it with, and I suspect it's out of reach, anyway! I have two things going for me, though. He doesn't know I'm at full strength, for one!" _She held up her hand, and concentrated briefly. Blue energy appeared around her fingers momentarily, before she dismissed it. "_Shouldn't have done that, not totally sure I'm not under surveillance! Wish I'd had some time, any time, to practice with these powers! One good thing, though, unlike Shego originally, I know the full range of the powers I have, just have to hope I use them well! They may not be the key to getting out of here, but they give us a better chance of doing so alive!"_

0000000000

Thundagirl was barely airborne and speeding towards Go East when the burst transmission reached her. Far above, a brief flash of light heralded the end of the satellite through which the signal had been routed, burnt out instantly by the effort necessary to pierce the suppression field.

"OW! Someone just 'yelled' in my ear!" Everyone inside looked at each other quizzically. "We just a received a high powered burst transmission," The sentient ship explained, "Decompressing it right now, appears to be audio and video."

Moments later they found themselves watching the Rani's discourse, as Wade had recorded it. When it was done, they looked at each other as they processed the information. Then most jumped as Charley kicked a locker, an angry look on her face, tears in the corners of her eyes. "Wrong again! Wrong, wrong, wrong! I hate the fact we're being manipulated, and may have been, from the very start!"

"Charley, you can't always be right, you couldn't have known..." JJ began, but Charley cut her off.

"Well, I sure _thought_ I knew, didn't I? So confident, and I've been wrong more often then right this time, haven't I?" She sat down hard on the deck, pulling her knees to her chest.

"No, that's not..." Ron began, but Shego cut him off, even as he reached out to the distraught girl, "Well, right now, who cares? We need to focus on saving Kim, and stopping who or what ever is behind this, so mope later, got it?" Everyone looked at her in shock, but Charley, after a moment's hesitation, shot to her feet, nodding. "You're right! Let's get to it!"

"Okay!" Shego responded, "Now, I'm sort of hoping that your boys no longer have a link to this Matrix, after having their bodies replaced in the sphere?"

"I don't think the Doctor overlooked that. He broke my connection to the Matrix, which I _now_ realize is why he didn't confide in me, so I suspect he took care of the boys, too!" Charley sounded confident again, at least. "And if by any chance there was a link between T-Girl and the Matrix, it should also be broken, now!"

Shego nodded. "I agree, for what it's worth! So, do we need to split our forces? Do we need to try and find whatever's generating the containment field?"

"And even if we do, can we do anything about it?" Doctor Director asked. Then she shrugged, "We have to try, anyway, we can't ignore any option! Do we have any idea exactly where it is, and how deep?"

Thundagirl answered that question. "Nine fathoms down, Doctor Director, and I have it's exact location, which does us no good! It's inside an old concrete and steel structure, which would require major explosives or cutting gear to get inside of!"

"What about Wade's cutting rig? Didn't we get that copied when we were in the sphere?" Ron asked. As the three Team Go members exchanged confused looks, Doctor Director crossed her arms and gazed levelly at Ron. "Something else you neglected to mention?"

Ron's face reddened slightly, "I wouldn't say I forgot, we have been kinda busy, after all!" He replied, "Anyway, all the cool stuff Wade designed for us, that was made up of that temporary alien stuff? Well, all the design details were in T-Girl's memory, so our hosts remade a lot of it, when they rebuilt her!"

"But not the cutting gear, Ron, sorry!" T-Girl announced, "Or rather, they did, but they added some 'improvements' that the Doctor didn't approve of. The way they rebuilt it, you could have gotten into the main vault at Fort Knox in thirty seconds!"

"Oh." Is all Ron managed to get out, as the others displayed expressions ranging from shock to polite interest(Doctor Drakken). Then Ron heard other voices, but these were solely inside his head.

"_Stoppable-San!"_ The words were spoken in chorus, which meant the sitch was serious, the True Masters of the Mystical Monkey rarely acted in such unison. "_This situation is most serious! We have secured the cooperation of others to protect ourselves, so that we can channel all the power at our disposal through you, if necessary!"_

Ron was startled, and had to suppress a small surge of anger. It was a sore point with him that the True Masters had once told him that saving Kim wasn't worth the risk of leaving themselves defenseless. And _now_...But he had to admit, this was a bigger sitch, as Kim herself would have told him, were she here. Emphatically!

"_But know this! To channel that much of the Mystical Monkey Power will change you, in many ways! You will not be able to continue the life you live now, you will have to leave those you know behind, partially for there own safety! The changes will be permanent, so call on the power wisely! You cannot change your mind, once the power is summoned to you! Good Fortune and Great Wisdom be yours in this time, Stoppable-San!"_

Sensing the connection end, Ron sighed, and looked around, especially at Charley, who sensed the scrutiny, and turned to face him, a curious look on her face. He forced a smile onto his face, for her sake. "_There had to be a 'but', didn't there? Another big choice to make, but this one is the 'no-way-back' kind!" _Charley stepped over to him, and put her arm around his waist, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"That smile doesn't fool me, can you tell me what's wrong?" She whispered to him.

His own smile slipped momentarily. "Nothing you can help with, just a decision I may have to make, if things go badly!" He whispered back, then leaned down and kissed her.

She kissed back ardently enough, but the concern was plain in her eyes when she pulled back. "I can't help you?" She asked softly, and her tone of voice nearly broke Ron's heart. Like Kim, the worst thing about any sitch for her would be to be unable to help, and especially with one involving someone she cared about.

Ron looked around, then pulled her into the back compartment, and activated the privacy screen, before taking hold of both her shoulders, and turning her to face him. "No, you might make it harder, but that's not your fault, no one can help me with my choice, no one at all!" Ron told her, then winced. "_All the writing I do, and I can't find the right words! If there are any 'right' words for this sitch! I can't tell her the truth, she might do something to keep me from having to make that choice, like take on something too big for her to handle!" _He smiled as confidently as he could. "That was clumsy, but I can't seem to say what I feel! Just understand that I hope I don't have to make a choice at all, just...Oh, am I a fool!" He smacked himself in the forehead, "I know the right words!" He looked a bemused Charley in the eyes, "I love you, Charley, please trust me?"

Charley's eyes widened, and she slowly nodded, before he kissed her again, cutting off any verbal response. But the moment couldn't last. A hand suddenly reached through the privacy screen, and snapped it's fingers. The two broke apart, exchanged glances, then returned to the main compartment.

On the main view screen, the helicopters had run into trouble.

0000000000

Captain Jesus Armendariz was in the second Air Force Blackhawk. Since the Delta Force men had not made it, he was senior officer in an improvised task force about to act on US soil in a manner he was not entirely certain conformed to the law. But orders were orders, and here he was.

He keyed his mike. "Can anyone see the UNIT choppers? Are we still ahead of them?" He only had the internal intercom, he couldn't even communicate with the other five choppers in his group! When they'd entered the blacked out area, he'd had to use hand signals to convey the need to beat UNIT to the tower to the other aircraft.

"Got one at seven o'clock, Cap!" Came the voice of Sergeant Leonis, who was on the port side of the aircraft. "He's a quarter mile back, near as I can judge, and I think he's the leader!"

"Good! Pilot, how's Youmans' bird doing?" Armendariz asked, referring to the lead ship.

"Almost there...Wait! Something's wrong!" Armendariz twisted around to look forward and out the windshield, between the pilots, just in time to see the lead helicopter spin suddenly out of control, as if it had hit a strong crosswind. And then the Captain saw it, what appeared to be a wall of wind, now visible at close range. "Hang on!" The pilot shouted, swinging the nose to the right, just as they hit the wall.

The Captain got off a quick prayer as the nose snapped up and swung hard to the left, the engines straining to obey the pilots' commands to withstand the wind's force, which threatened to spin them out of control as well. Then, abruptly, they were through, but not out of trouble. The suddenness with which the winds cut off made it hard for the pilots to regain control. "We're through, but we may have a hard landing!" Then he spotted something on the ground, and his voice gained a note of near panic. "And a hot one!"

0000000000

In the following aircraft, Lieutenant Vincent Kenny leaned forwards to speak in the female pilot's ear. "He made it through! Can you?" He saw her grip tighten on the controls. He didn't care if he sounded sexist, he just cared about supporting his Captain.

"Youmans' bird is in the water! It hit hard! Looks like one of the boats is heading for it!" Airman Carey called over the intercom, "I don't see..."

"Hang on tight!" The pilot shouted, and they hit the wall. Having seen the previous aircraft's actions, she had a better idea what to expect, and the aircraft's passage through was slightly less traumatic.

"Everyone get ready!" Kenny commanded, "We should consider this area as 'hot'! We should..."

"Aircraft on the ground under attack!" The Pilot called out. "Opposition appears to be..."

"Just get us down there!" Kenny snapped, angry at the interruption no matter how justified it was. He then did something foolish, he disconnected from the intercom, and slid the door on his side open violently, missing the pilot's next words. He crouched in the door, as the helicopter came down, still rotating to port. Then a large blue form came into view, as the wheels touched. His jaw dropped, even as reflex made him swing his weapon up. "_Oh, Hell! He made two of them!"_

Then he heard a crash from behind him, as two black talons pierced the still-closed port door, and it was ripped clean off the helicopter. Just before the sound of his own weapon firing drowned everything out, he heard firing, and screaming, from the other chopper. Then his own burst slammed into the chest of DoomGo, or his brother. To no effect.

The pilot snapped at her co-pilot, "Bail, Jimmy!", then pulled her sidearm and jumped clear of the aircraft. And swiftly determined that things were even worse then she'd thought.

There were four of them, at least, and she was fairly sure her 9mm wasn't going to impress them...

* * *

Please Read and Review.


	36. Closing in

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

For those who don't recognize them, those were all ten incarnations of the Doctor to date, weaving on the Loom.

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"So how is this supposed to work, if the Matrix's plan goes the way it wants, Doctor?" Wade asked the Time Lord as the two watched multiple monitors displaying various TV signals from within Go City, as well as a satellite view from orbit.

"Well, what the Rani refers to as the 'containment field' is supposed to slow the unleashed explosion down until it is in sync with the mutagenic wave, otherwise it may disrupt it and ruin the plan. It's precisely calculated, with small margin for error. The blast will 'push' the mutagenic wave, in a sense, as well as empowering it, if the calculations are correct. The destructive force of the blast will be used up as it reaches the hundred mile point, but the wave will continue from there. I don't believe it will actually cover the entire globe, doing the figures in my own head, but it might manage to cover more than 85 percent of the occupied land masses. So, some people will be unaffected. I do wonder, however..." He broke off, forcing Wade to prod him verbally.

"What, Doctor?"

"Well, the surviving humans in that small area will outnumber those who will have been converted, and the converted will be scattered throughout the affected lands. I wonder how the Matrix believes it will have time to organize and teach the converted the science of Gallifrey, or whether it discounts interference from those not affected? Does it plan to 'enslave' them, or does it expect them to treat those changed as our own people treated us, when we first emerged? They welcomed the prospects of peace and prosperity which we promised. And did deliver, by the way. But in this case?" The Doctor trailed off again, brooding, and Wade decided to change the subject.

"When do you think the Matrix began to manipulate the Valeyard?"

The Time Lord sighed. "Well, the link between the Matrix and a Time Lord has to be established, or re-established, early in each regeneration. The Matrix never linked to the Valeyard on Gallifrey, because it snobbishly considered him a fraud. He escaped from Gallifrey in the form in which he became Manoff Yasler, so the Matrix never had a chance to link with him until he regenerated after his 'execution' following the failure of his first plan to exterminate mankind." He swiveled back and forth idly in his chair as he talked. "The Matrix was limited, as far as choice of agent. It couldn't have manipulated the Rani or myself, we would have been immediately aware of it, even though it has interfered to some extent with her memories from that alternate world. And there was no one else, it seems, until Charley linked with it, which I believe the Matrix deliberately initiated."

"Until you broke that connection, along with the Ar'Ithane?"

The Doctor pursed his lips, indecision on his face, then nodded, "I broke it, yes. Anyway, the Valeyard had taken seven years to assemble his first plan, and I doubt he relished the thought of such a task again. I don't know how the Matrix presented the new plan to him so that he'd accept it, but the fact it was one he could accomplish in relatively short time had to be it's basic appeal, though what did he believe the source was? He wouldn't have trusted the Matrix. Pretty sure he wouldn't have believed that he'd thought of it himself, he was keenly aware of his shortcomings. Though...perhaps he could have believed his new incarnation had regained some of his original intelligence? His ego might have accepted that. Anyway, The Matrix gave him the plan necessary to accomplish it's own aims."

Wade nodded, "And then had to do something to stop him when he changed the plan, so it used Charley for that! But, it didn't put her directly in conflict with the Valeyard, didn't tell her her purpose, I wonder why?"

The Doctor rose and began to drift around the room. "I'm not sure, actually! Maybe it put her close, but something drew her in another direction? I don't know the events of that parallel world, so I'd really be making wild guesses on that subject. Well, I know it's future--or knew it, I should say. Anyway, Charley, Kim, and the others stopped him, but he escaped into the past. Though the Matrix undoubtedly linked with him again after he regenerated into Edward Dray, it had to wait for the Rani and Valeyard to arrive on Earth seven years ago, with their TARDIS, before he could possibly obtain the Strange Matter, which I personally don't believe came from the Rani. How he explained his regeneration into Edward Dray to the Rani is a good question. Somehow, he..possibly with the aid of the Matrix, came up with a story to explain how he died as Manoff Yasler..of course, the Time Ring! Unless the Rani kept inventory of their TARDIS regularly, which I highly doubt, he just told her that he used it after dying as Yasler, and ended up in the past. All he needed to do then was find his actual previous incarnation and get it out of the way before it could contact the Rani."

Even though that caused an obvious question to pop into Wade's head, something on one TV screen pushed it to the back of his mind. He turned up the volume on that news feed. "_...appeared in his carport this morning. The vehicle has the same license plate and VIN as the one parked outside in the driveway, the only differences he found were a cigarette burn in the upholstery of one seat, and signs the the left front fender had been damaged and repaired. Otherwise, it is the exact, same car! And this is not the only report of similar occurrences throughout the city. The most interesting is the apparent duplication of a rare Van Gogh at the Art Museum. Both are now being shipped to art experts outside the city under heavy guard..." _Wade turned the sound back down and looked at the Doctor, who looked grim. "Is there any reason the Matrix hasn't already unleashed that explosion, Doctor?"

"Yes, there's a very good reason, Wade." the Doctor began to split his attention between the monitors and Wade's trophy shelves. "It needs the full force of that explosion to be concentrated in this time frame, because it's calculations are based on that premise. But currently, the blast exists here, and stretches a decade or three into the future of the parallel world. So, the Matrix first has to 'collapse' that world, so to speak! That's why all these items are appearing, crossing over from there. The ones from the past extend back to the point where history was altered by the Valeyard, but the ones from the future are from no farther ahead then 10 months, fortunately!"

"Do you know why?"

The Doctor nodded, straightening one of the trophies as he spoke, "Actually, it has to do with something my previous self did. The future isn't collapsing back to this point, because in a way, it's being propped up. But, the prop won't hold for long, and when it lets go...well, we have to stop the Matrix's plan before then, that's all! The ten month limit I'm not sure of, I originally thought that would coincide with the day of the explosion, but that isn't the case."

Wade nodded, even though he didn't know what the Doctor was referring to, by 'prop'. But another question was digging at him. "I'm not clear at what point the Valeyard 'changed' history?"

"Well, after he went back and started his new life, and his new plan, he had to account for his pre-existing self when he reached the date of his original arrival. He could avoid meeting himself easily enough, but in order to begin his new, improved, plan, he had to remove his other self, _before_ that incarnation could arrange the attempt on Kim's life, where her plane was shot down, but _after _he died as Manoff Yasler. When he prevented that attempt, _that's_ where history was actually changed, effectively. The things he changed as Edward Dray before that became part of history, it wasn't until he erased an event he originally caused that he truly changed things, and created the parallel world, unwittingly, I believe!"

"But, what did he do with his 'other' self? I take it he couldn't have killed him, could he? That would cause paradox, or something, right?" The Doctor didn't answer, but Wade saw a look of growing alarm on his face.

"I'm a fool!" The Time Lord shouted, "That's how the containment will be breached!" He snatched up his umbrella and hat, "I've got to go! Not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I've got to go do it!" He grabbed Wade's hand and pumped it. "Good to meet you, sorry to rush off, watch out for the Cybergrim!" Then he dashed out of the room. Wade heard him saying goodbye to his mom, then the sound of the back door slamming.

Faintly he heard the TARDIS begin to dematerialize. He frowned, then turned back to his computers, and ran a search for 'Cybergrim'. There were no results. "Yet!" he whispered to himself, and went back to monitoring the situation in Go City as best he could.

00000000

"Okay, nine of the helicopters have tried getting through that wall, guys." Thundagirl announced, "Six made it, and these last two probably aren't going to try it. They've both overheated an engine in that race they ran, and if three with two working engines have crashed, they don't have much chance on one. The three ships that failed to get through are in the water, no explosions, but they all hit hard. Boats moving in to help all three."

Ron glanced at Charley, expecting her to be agitated at not being able to help with the rescue, but he instead saw she was lost in her own thoughts.

"What vexes me," T-Girl continued, "Is not being able to see through that 'wall'! I mean, I can see the island, and the building on it, but the helicopters vanished as soon as they passed through the wall, I can't see if they made it to the ground or not."

Charley suddenly spoke up,"I wonder if we _should_ investigate that underwater structure?" As everyone turned to look at her, she suddenly frowned, and shook her head, "Sorry, just doubting myself, ignore me!" She then began studying her bracer. JJ frowned, and the Reeders began to look wary. Charley punched some of the controls on her bracer, watched it a moment, and then blew up. "Damn all Time Lords, and their works!" Everyone recoiled at her vehement declaration. "We don't have long, my Bracer's rebooting, we need to make some quick decisions, now!"

"What!?" Shego asked querulously, "What's wrong..." then comprehension appeared on her face, "The Matrix?"

Charley nodded vigorously, "Yes! I was armored when Roy 'accidentally' linked me with the damn thing! So, I had my bracer on. It linked to me, it linked to the boys, so of course, it linked with the computer in my bracer! It's been monitoring us, whenever I've had it on at the very least! It's also been trying to influence my actions. I think it could read my thoughts, when I was directly linked with it, but now it can only try to influence me in more subtle ways! When I asked that question just now, I immediately felt foolish, in a way that's not me!"

"So, it's worried about our checking that place out?" Doctor Director asked.

"Yes!" Charley kept her eye on the bracer, monitoring the progress of it's reboot. "I hope this reboot is keeping it from hearing us! We need to send someone down there. Thundagirl, can you give us more of a description of the place?"

"Well, it looks as if a natural cave exists down there, about midway between the islands, but technically, it's in the base of Go West. Someone forced a large steel pipe into the cave, then the concrete and steel structure, which appears to be a pre-fabricated airlock, must have been lowered down, and welded to the pipe. Then they pumped out the cave, which is currently dry."

"How much room in the airlock?" Charley asked.

"Room for two divers, prone. The hatches are barely large enough for a diver with full tanks to negotiate. Hmm, there's a ventilation shaft, about eight inches in diameter, drilled upwards at a sharp angle to just above the water level on Go West, then a connecting vertical shaft goes up to the island, but it comes out somewhere inside the pillar of fire. No sign of that stuff spreading downwards, though."

"Who goes?" JJ asked, beating several others to the punch.

Charley grimaced. "I should, if there's alien tech inside!"

"You going to dog-paddle down there?" her friend asked. Charley made a face, but her reply was cut off by T-Girl.

"Boss, I think someone's been playing with my brain again. Something is trying to tell me that as many members of Team Possible as possible should be involved in confronting the Valeyard, including me!"

Charley was really scowling now. "The Doctor! I'll bet he knew about this link!" she rapped on her bracer, "And he's been using us to divert the Matrix's attention, while he does something clever behind it's back!" She calmed down, still watching her bracer's readouts. "But if he isn't, we need to. T-Girl, after you drop us off, pretend to follow the orders I give you, when the Matrix can 'hear' me again. Show Mego and Doctor Director, if they're willing, where the diving gear is, and send them down there with one of your drones then rejoin us, with a suitable excuse. Time's up, any objections? Quickly!" Betty and Mego both shook their heads, and then everyone tried to look normal. Charley suddenly smiled, "Diagnosis complete, everything's running normally." she said, for the Matrix's benefit, hopefully.

"Passing through in thirty seconds, everyone!" T-Girl announced.

Charley nodded, and started giving orders, "Okay, I'll start checking for casualties among those chopper crews, while Roy works on gaining access to the building! T-Girl, we may need more medical people, so after you drop us off, head for the City and see if you can round some up. Doctor Director, you go, too, and try and find out what other help we may receive, please, and Mego? You too, since you might get faster cooperation from the local officials." Both humans acknowledged with nods, T-Girl with a sharp "You got it, Boss!" The she added, "And we...are...through!"

Everyone was surprised, they didn't feel a thing, but then the sights visible on the monitors drove such thoughts from their minds, as they gazed in shock and horror at what was going on below.

"Oh...God...No!" Shego murmured.

00000000000

Kim sat on the bunk, studying her disguised hands. She ran the fingers of her right across the palm of the left, pressing down at a certain spot, with a slight wince. "_Left the scars out of my disguise, not that there's much left that's visible. But I can still feel them, they still hurt with pressure, maybe they always will. Macheles...no, he didn't personally use the hammer, I actually can't remember the face of the man who drove the nails in, I wonder why?" _A small noise drew her attention. Amy and Milly were dividing their attention between each other and a small mobile Kim had fashioned from various things, and suspended above them. Right now, both were trying to get a grip on each other's hand, but they couldn't quite make the connection.

Kim smiled, a tear forming in the corner of one eye. "_What a summer! So many changes, in so short a time! I know everything is supposed to change after High School, but did I have to overdo it, as usual?" _She snorted in amusement, and two pairs of eyes focused on her face. She smiled widely as she reached for them, but the sound of the door into the cell area opening stopped her. She waited apprehensively until the Master came into view, and didn't relax much then, either.

She rose and walked to the bars. The Master didn't look very well, his skin was acquiring a gray tone. "Are you all right?" she asked, with sincere concern. He responded with a wan smile. "Not really, my life is running short, I think, and I've exhausted all my options, I'm afraid."

"I'm...sorry to hear that, I guess." Kim said quietly. Then her look sharpened. "What about foiling the Valeyard? If you're running out of time, are you planning something, to take him with you?"

"Trying to, I'll admit! However, there is very little here I can use, to be honest! The remaining weapons in his arsenal can't be subjugated to my control. In fact, he hasn't taken the time to put them all under his control, either! He just collected them from various planets, or the means to make them, without a plan as to how he'd use them!" He shook his head, "I can't excuse his actions entirely by citing his multiple personae as the cause, there's something involved I haven't discovered yet."

Kim scowled, not sure where to direct the conversation. Then an inspiration struck her. "I had an odd dream." She found herself saying. The Master regarded her with interest. "Indeed?" She described the dream in as much detail as she could. Her description of the Doctors around the loom caused him to chuckle, but the message that followed drove all humor from his face.

"You met another version of yourself, which told you that you mustn't let the same thing happen to _him?_ '_Him' _has to mean the Valeyard, but how could such an event occur? And even then, while not a full Time Lord, meeting another incarnation of himself would cause no difficulties."

Kim made the logic jump quickly enough. "But, what if it's another copy of the _same _incarnation?"

"Hmph! Well, then you'd have a problem! But, I don't see how...wait! You told me...he went back in time, and apparently regenerated. But then, when he reached the point where he intended to change history, what did he do with his pre-existing self? He couldn't eliminate him, he had to trap..." he snapped his fingers, "Perhaps the same trap that holds the Ar'Ithane? But that doesn't make sense, they're physical nature is entirely dissimilar to ours, what kind of trap could hold them both?"

Kim certainly didn't know the answer, and was frustrated that the Master didn't, either. "How could they have altered your DNA, to deprive you of your scientific knowledge, anyway?"

"DNA? My dear girl, I 'm not a clone! No, this body was created using..." he trailed off, eyes widening. Turning away, he began to vigorously pace back and forth. "It would have taken a...call it a biometric/psychometric imprint for simplicity's sake, which could only have come from one source! But, it's a source that should have been destroyed, with Gallifrey!" He stopped, shaking his head. "I don't understand..."

Kim's mind was racing, trying to keep up, and interpret what she was hearing, compared to what she knew. Then, a connection was made. "The Gallifreyan Matrix?" she ventured.

The Master's head snapped up, and he focused on Kim a stare so intense, it made her shift uneasily. "What do you know about that?"

"I—I know that the people who took care of it made a copy, in--in case what they thought was unthinkable actually happened, and Charley found it on another planet, and was linked to it, for a while." Kim stammered all this out in a rush, like a student caught by surprise by a teacher's question.

"Indeed?" The Master clenched and unclenched the fingers of one hand convulsively, while tapping himself on the chin with the other, mind racing.

Kim stepped back from the bars, turning to check on the babies, who were again engrossed with each other. Then she sensed, rather then heard, the Master burst into motion. She turned to see him striding towards the door, and she thought he was leaving, but she sensed him stopping. Moments later, the cell door abruptly slid open, and he came back into sight, his intense stare burning into her. "We have to stop whatever is being planned! This is no accident, any of it! Not the temporal distortion, the appearance of that 'pillar of fire' of yours, none of it! Whatever is about to happen will be on a large scale, of that I have no doubt! Come along, I'll close the cell doors, nothing will get to your children!"

Kim shook her head. "The Doctor, and Charley, both told me to stay with them, for me and Shego to stay with them, otherwise they may vanish! I may need to sustain them, keep them real, please understand!"

Anger warred with other emotions on the Master's face, but then his expression softened. "Miss Possible, two of you could sustain two of them, possibly! But you cannot keep them both alive alone, you'd only die with them, believe me! And I don't think you want to choose between them, do you? The only way to save them is to stop whatever is being planned by the Valeyard, or his master!"

Kim actually believed him, but that didn't make it an easy decision. She bit her lip, shuffling her feet, knowing she looked like an indecisive teenager, but unable to help herself. After all, that _was_ what she was. "I have to make sure they don't fall off the bed, they're pretty mobile for their age." She said, then went back into the cell. She used all the bedding to make a little 'nest' for the babies on the floor.

Placing them gently in it, she tried to keep her smile warm, because she felt certain they'd sense it if she was disturbed. She kissed them both, trying to fight back tears, and left the cell. "Let's go."

When the Master worked the keypad to close the cell door, Kim spoke up again. "Show me how to open it, in case I have to do it myself." The Master nodded. "Very well. You see this key in the lower right hand corner? Just press it, and the door will open." When this drew a deeply suspicious look from Kim, he smirked. "I may not remember the secrets of time and space, but my knowledge of how to rewire a simple device is fully intact, I assure you." He punched the key, and the door opened again. "You see? Now, let's get moving, I don't know how much longer we have before things get beyond our ability to effect them!"

Kim nodded, but took his arm to halt him as he turned to go. "I wondered, would it help at all, if we could get the Valeyard to revert to his original self, when he was a clone of the Doctor?"

The Master seemed surprised, then nodded as if impressed. "Very good thinking! Unfortunately, I have no idea what would trigger such a change! And how long it would be sustained. So, we'd better not plan on that happening, agreed?" Kim reluctantly nodded, and they left the cell room, passed up the short corridor, and entered the Monitor room. And found a nasty shock waiting for them.

GoGore was leaning back against one console, arms crossed. "Why, what have we here?" he asked mockingly, "Kim Possible, in my lair? And dressed so brazenly! However did you get in here?" He looked back and forth between the Master and Kim. "And what's going on here?" He asked warily.

"_He doesn't remember what his later selves experience, so he doesn't know about the babies!" _Kim thought. "_But, how to take advantage of his ignorance of other things?"_

The Master smiled disarmingly in response to the question. "Miss Possible is our prisoner! You sent me to bring her here for interrogation, but you obviously can't remember that! She's drugged with that wonderful mixture you stole from the Aldeans, that suppresses violent impulses and dulls reactions!" Kim took the cue, hoping she hadn't already discredited it with her initial reaction.

Enlightenment appeared a little too brightly on GoGore's face, and Kim tensed. "Oh, I see! Then she shouldn't react at all when I do this!" He suddenly uncrossed his arms, and pointed an odd device at Kim, before switching his aim suddenly to the Master. There was a flash of light, and a high pitched buzz, and the Master was slammed back against the wall, a large hole blasted straight through his torso. Kim couldn't suppress her shock and horror at the act, and GoGore smirked.

"I thought so!" He lazily shifted his aim to Kim, who's mind raced as she tried to think of a course of action. Her best choice was to dodge back through the door, but before she could, GoGore frowned. "One shot weapon, too bad!" He tossed it over his shoulder to bounce off one of the big monitor screens. They now showed the carnage outside, and as Kim's eyes followed the discarded weapon, they locked on to the screens, and her eyes widened in greater horror. "No!" she whispered.

"Yes! The first one turned out so well, I made four more. Had them for weeks, you understand, waiting for a good opportunity. Wish I'd taken all of them to Go City, all of your precious team would probably be dead now! But I only took the original. These have much more sophisticated thought processes, _my_ kind of thought processes! See how they toy with their prey? No quick and easy deaths when they have time to play, and they do, nothing out there can harm..." He broke off as a familiar shape suddenly burst into sight through the defensive wall.

Kim's heart began to pound, and her spirits lifted as she saw Thundagirl. Four DoomGos or not, she suddenly felt a great deal more confident. Then her gaze shifted back to GoGore, who was still staring angrily at the screen. Kim smiled grimly. "I want to thank you." she said.

"Damn! How did they--what?" he spun around to face her, and became wary when he saw the look on her face. "Thank me?"

"Yes! You see, since this started, I've been poisoned, tortured, bombed, put through childbirth, forced to run, and be constantly scared for my friends' and family's safety! I've been building up a _lot_ of frustration that I need to get out! So, Thank You for providing someone to take it out _on!_" And the flare of emerald fire in her eyes made GoGore actually take a step back.

But then his ego took control, and he squared off. "Very well, Miss Possible! But I warn you, this 'me' has been trained to fight nasty!" And he came at her.

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"_Are they what the Monkey Masters offered me the power to fight? Can I beat four of them that way?"_ Even as he asked himself the question, Ron felt a surge of confidence that he could, indeed, triumph in such a battle. "_Well, if that's what I have to do!"_ He turned to look at Charley, and saw that she didn't look the least bit worried. "_Huh?"_

"_Four of them! How the hell are we going to beat four of them at once!" _Shego's mind raced as she sought a solution. She turned to look at her brothers, and saw grim determination of their faces. "_No! Not losing them too, not to those..."_

"Forget them!" Charley snapped, "Just stick to the plan!" Shego noticed that Charley's teammates seemed to take her word as fact, the twins relaxing, and JJ looking mildly disappointed. "Forget them! Are you nuts?!" Shego snapped.

"Charley, what are you talking about!" Ron added. Charley looked at him and gave him a tight smile. "Ron, I love you too, now trust _me_, please!"

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Lieutenant Doyle, the pilot from the second helicopter to make it through, was wondering when her turn would come. She was trying to staunch the bleeding of a female UNIT trooper with one hand, while reloading her automatic with the other. Minutes before, both of them had been pumping bullets into one of the monsters, the UNIT girl with an assault rifle. To their horror, the beast had actually stood there with bullets bouncing off it, tapping it's chin with one talon, as if deciding which of them to kill first. Then it had stepped forward with incredible speed to impale the UNIT trooper, right through her armor. It then withdrew it's talon, and turned away to pursue other prey.

But Doyle saw it as a temporary reprieve at best. The quartet of horrors was methodically working their way through the men and women who had made it to the island intact. Two of the helicopters were burning, piled on top of each other.

The bottom one, a UNIT bird, had barely touched down when two of the monsters had physically lifted one of the Air Force ships, which was missing it's tail and rotors, and thrown it at the UNIT ship. Coincidently or not, they managed to destroy the heaviest weapons UNIT had brought in the process.

Suddenly, all four monsters froze, then turned to look at something behind Doyle. She twisted around to see Thundagirl almost overhead. A surge of hope went through her, as the sentient ship began descending. She looked back at the monsters, and saw that they'd grouped up, surrounded by still-living victims. She didn't know that this was to prevent Thundagirl pancaking one or more of them.

As she heard T-Girl crunch down behind her, the four monsters began to work themselves up to a frenzy, ending when they all reared back and opened their mouths as if to roar defiance...and their heads exploded. Doyle was so shocked that she didn't flinch when a piece of jawbone ricocheted off rock near her. Then through the misty remnants of the monsters' heads, she vaguely made out four shapes, hovering behind the collapsing monsters. A high-pitched giggle emanated from one, and then they scattered.

"Cortical Bombs." Doyle looked up at Charley standing over her, who continued calmly, "Wise precaution on their creator's part, but a bit of a two-edged sword in this case."

She looked around. "Roy! Get on that door! The rest of you help me establish Triage! Anyone who can, help with the wounded!" She barked out. She then knelt next to Doyle, and began to inspect the wounded UNIT trooper. She pulled out her cutter, and began to slice through the woman's armor and clothes as if they were tissue paper. Belle knelt beside her, and offered a dressing for her use.

As soon as Team Possible and the Wegos were off her, Thundagirl lifted off again, and headed back out. "There are four of Wade's rebreathers in locker seven, Doctor Director, with integral masks. No wet suits, though!" T-Girl informed her passengers.

Betty rolled her eye, and began unbuttoning her blouse, as Mego piped up, "No problemo, my costume is waterproof!"

"_At least I'm not wearing my 'Hot Date' underwear!" _Betty thought ruefully.

0000000000

Kim studied GoGore's stance as he advanced quickly and launched a spin kick.

Even before he started his spin, Kim dropped and executed a leg sweep. But, not to her front, where GoGore 'appeared' to be, but to her right front, instead. She had remembered about the 'displacement' effect of his tattoos. Currently, he had only his face exposed, so he couldn't be too far displaced. And from his choice of attack, he couldn't have been to her left, or he'd have missed her entirely, or landed a weak or glancing blow, at best.

She'd guessed right. Her scything leg impacted what felt like the back of the knee on his plant leg, and he fell hard. As his body hit the floor, his displaced image briefly merged with his actual location, and Kim launched a second attack to take advantage. But GoGore twisted away, managing to reduce Kim's hit to a glancing blow. He lunged to his feet, and tore open his shirt, while retreating on unsteady legs, gasping for breath.

Kim closed again, lidding her eyes and trying to locate his heavy breathing to target her next attack. She was on target enough to force GoGore to block and take a hard hit to one forearm from her foot. He realized too late she was forcing him into a corner. She was operating under the assumption that his displaced image maintained the same facing as his actual body, and was displaced to his flank. And as he backed into the corner, his image wavered, and seemed to move too quickly to the center of the corner. She jabbed, drawing a block, and connected right where she saw his arm, confirming her assumptions.

He countered with a kick, forcing her to block, and trying to force her back from the corner. But she blocked him wide, and slipped inside the kick, and tried a stiff-fingered jab to the nerve cluster in his right shoulder. He deflected it high with his right, and swept his left across her exposed abdomen, fingers extended.

Kim jumped back in shock as pain ripped across her belly. She quickly checked and saw three parallel red marks, her skin abraded as if by contact with a rough surface. She returned to the attack, but when she blocked a kick from her right, she actually gave GoGore some leverage to force himself past her. She tried to keep him pinned, but had to recoil at a strike at her eyes, delivered even as she blocked a jab at her solar plexus. And he got past, and threw himself into a forward roll away from her, coming up back in the clear, and tearing off what was left of his shirt.

Even with her eyes on him, Kim found herself unsure which way his image had shifted away from his body. "_Snap! How does this work? Now I've lost any element of surprise!" _

GoGore regarded her warily. "How are you doing this? Where are you getting the energy, in your condition?" Kim had actually forgotten her disguise in the excitement, and couldn't prevent an involuntary move of her hand towards the pendant. GoGore's eyes narrowed as he caught it. "_Great, he thinks I'm drawing strength from it! Hmm, if it means he has a specific focus for his attacks, though, it might help me!" _She set herself in the most flexible stance she knew, and tried to discern a clue as to his true position. She had no idea how much his image was currently displaced. She thought his voice originated to the left of the image, though. She knew only her eyes were being tricked, and wished she was better at blind-fighting. But then again, he had to cooperate by making noise for that to work, and as he came forwards again, it was without a sound.

He came straight on, and then launched what appeared to be a left cross, but from his apparent position, it was too easy to avoid. Logically, if he meant it too land in the usual way, he had to be to her right, swinging to hit her behind the ear. But some instinct told Kim otherwise. She brought both hands up to her left, as he stopped his swinging motion and reversed it to deliver a forearm shiver to the left side of her face. She recoiled, but took a reduced blow on her cheek. But both of her hands made contact with his unseen arm, and she grabbed hold.

Her left hand felt like it had his wrist, her right gripped just below his elbow, and she twisted the arm hard, aborting his attempt to snatch the pendant with his right hand as a follow up. But as she tried to twist more, while shifting her grip, a sudden shimmer of light seemed to flicker across his tattoos, and pain exploded in her hands, centered right in the middle of each palm.

She tried to keep her grip regardless, but he tore free, and took advantage of her pain-blurred vision to land a solid hit to her jaw, which spun her around. She launched a blind mule kick to try and hold him off, but failed to connect. Then he caught hold of her hair, and slammed her forehead into one of the computer consoles. Then taking a two-handed grip on her right arm, he spun her around and twisted, flipping her over and onto her back, dislocating her shoulder in the bargain. She tried to scream as she was slammed down on her back, which helped drive the breath from her body. But ironically, the angle of her impact knocked her shoulder right back into place, though possibly at the cost of some muscle damage.

GoGore himself actually staggered away before steadying himself, and regarding her with contempt. "Those poor hands of yours..." He stopped and frowned at the breathlessness of his speech. He waited a moment to steady his breathing before continuing. "One of the neat abilities one gains with these markings is the ability to awaken the memory of pain in another, by making contact with any previously injured area! In this case, of course, you initiated the contact, but the effect is the same. Usually it's used for purposes of torture, but I did warn you, I was trained to fight nasty!"

"And now, let's see what removing that pendant of yours does to your vigor, shall we?" Kim tried to twist away and rise as he approached her, and he helped her, lifting and shoving her face first into the wall, then spinning her around, one forearm across her throat, as he took the pendant, and ripped it away as he stepped way back, studying his prize.

And then Kim's eyes narrowed, and she summoned up all her reserves to override the pain. GoGore looked up at her, and saw the change in her appearance. "Is that all? Just a disguise? Then how..." And then Kim attacked.

Reflexively gripping the pendant, GoGore blocked a high strike from his right, but that was a feint, as Kim's foot slammed square into his ribs. As his right arm dropped in response, she delivered a right hand palm strike to his left cheek, which was nearly as painful to her as to him. She followed with another palm strike with her left, which caught him flush on the jaw, and snapped his head to his left. She repeated the strike, but nearly staggered into her foe. Not that he would have noticed. He looked out on his feet, but Kim didn't take any chances. She centered herself, and launched the most powerful spin kick she could. He didn't dodge at all, and she nailed him square on the left side of his jaw. And he collapsed limply to the floor.

Kim staggered and fell against the wall, studying her fallen opponent. He currently looked like an emaciated version of himself, with his tattoos concealed under the cloak of the disguise amulet. "Well, not quite according to plan.." Kim gasped, "But I can live with it!" She then looked at the corpse of the Master. "But now what do I do?"

* * *

Please Read and Review.


	37. Chapter 37

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

7-8-2010 Here I go again, but hopefully this itch is finally fully scratched. I have re-written chapters 37 through 40, and apologize if someone was actually in the midst of reading this part of the story.

My reasons are many, including stumbling upon my original notes for this part of the story. But mainly, certain things needed to be changed to set up the sequel. My first attempt was to add a chapter 40, two years after finishing the story originally. But it ended up sounding lame to my ears.

So this is it, I sincerely hope, the last re-write of this story. With full apologies to those who are rightfully tired of it all.

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The Stoppables had come over to stay at the Possible home as events unfolded in Go City. This was mostly for the convenience of Global Justice's local office, which was strapped for Agents to cover their responsibilities. Getting both Ron's and Kim's family members in one location made their job much easier. The Loads remained in their home, which was well-protected by Wade's own security measures as well as a team of agents.

The press had the Possible home staked out, as did the Middleton PD, and neighbors who could tear themselves away from their TV screens gathered in gossiping knots, speculating wildly.

James Possible had had to go to the Space Center to join the growing roster of scientists being consulted for information and advice by the Government, Leaving Anne and the boys to entertain their guests, and anxiously watch the television.

Jean Stoppable sat on the couch with her husband, with Hana dozing in her arms. Jim and Tim Possible sat restlessly on the floor in front of the plasma screen TV, to which all eyes were riveted. Anne was in the kitchen, brewing tea and cooking dinner while listening to the broadcast.

All the networks now had camera crews on top of the namesake bluff in Gold Bluff Park, which gave them their best view of both East and West Go Islands. And direct connections to communications networks that could transmit outside Go City.

They had also put crews aboard one of the two excursion boats that carried tour groups and occasional party crowds around the bay. Though for the moment these crews could not send video to their networks, they were recording events at much closer range, as close as the blockade around the two islands would let them.

And photographers seemingly occupied almost every high rooftop, trying to get the one special angle or shot that could make a magazine cover, and a career. Others shared the excursion boat with the network crews. There were also multitudes of independents and amateurs shooting pictures and video. All this despite the possibility that disaster loomed.

The image being viewed in the Possible home came from a national news network, the narrative coming from a young woman with a mild British accent.

"...we have no current explanation for what is obstructing our view of events on East Go Island. Yet obviously something unseen is doing just that, from what we saw when several helicopters carrying what we believe were US Special Forces soldiers approached the island earlier. Several were knocked from the sky violently by an unseen force, while the remainder vanished entirely. Yet it is not believed that they crashed, but passed behind some kind of camouflage screen, 'cloaking' whatever events are transpiring there."

"Team Possible's new ship followed the helicopters to the island, vanishing from sight as well. Two helicopters from the original force set down on the Davis Street Pier, both showing signs of engine trouble. The Davis Street Pier is where the Bay Excursion Company is located, one of whose excursion vessels is now on your screen, carrying a large contingent of reporters and cameramen as close to the island as they are allowed. And just moments ago, a US Army Chinook helicopter landed on the Davis Street Pier as well, but out of sight of our cameras. I understand the press is being kept a discreet distance from the Pier right now."

She paused to read some notes in her hands, nodding in response to information she was receiving through a headset. "No accord has been reached as yet regarding the nature of the phenomena that has engulfed Go Tower. The surviving members of Team Go, however, are believed to be with Team Pos...Wait! I can see their ship again, it just popped into view, and has now come to a halt, midway between the two islands...a smaller craft has emerged from the ship's belly, and is descending to the water's surface...and appears to have submerged! And the ship itself is speeding towards the Davis Street Pier, I believe flashing a Morse message with two lights under it's nose!" What she had actually seen was the drone from Thundagirl's starboard side, hidden from the reporter and her camera crew as it detached, took Doctor Director and Mego aboard, then descended into view.

Anne Possible had come to the door to watch when she heard the reporter mention Thundagirl. "That's a good sign, Mom!" Jim exclaimed. Anne nodded dubiously. Thundagirl could be evacuating wounded, or dying, people from the island. When Thundagirl dropped out of sight of the cameras onto the pier, she sighed, then turned and went back to her cooking.

Dean Stoppable whispered in his wife's ear, patting her on the arm. She nodded, forcing a confident smile on her face. The Tweebs put their heads together and whispered to each other for several minutes. The telecast was mainly ignored for now, the reporter's speculations and exchanges with an anchorman in another city being mere background noise for five people lost in their own thoughts, and one sleeping baby.

00000000000

The sentient ship settled quickly down on the pier. Navy SEALs and Marine Force Recon personnel had been offloading underwater gear from the Chinook, in anticipation of seeing if they could get under the mysterious shield around Go East Island. But now that plan was discarded in favor of new opportunity.

"I can take twenty-five to thirty of you inside!" Thundagirl boomed, "But put a priority on medical personnel! We have a lot of wounded from your first wave that need treatment, and I can always come back for more of you!" Decisions and allocations were hurriedly made, and T-Girl was airborne again in less then ten minutes, speeding back towards the island.

00000000000

Of sixty-eight personnel on the six helicopters that had gotten through, nineteen were dead and only ten uninjured, leaving thirty-nine casualties in total to be dealt with. With the exception of three of the uninjured, who were too shaken to be of use, Charley had everyone pitching in to care for the injured. Even Shego ignored her worry over Kim and the babies to help out. Only Roy was otherwise occupied, trying to manipulate the locking mechanism of the shelter to gain access.

Doctor Drakken knelt beside Charley as she worked to stabilize a UNIT trooper with severe abdominal injuries. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself about not being able to correctly interpret what's been going on, Charley. I have a notion that there was never much chance of any of us being able to understand what's been happening."

"Because we've been pawns, in a big chess game between the Doctor and the Matrix?" Charlie replied levelly.

Drakken nodded, unsurprised that she'd made the deduction. "Well, no, not chess, exactly. That game that Ron, Rufus, and myself became so fascinated with, when we were in that alien world, is a better example. Every move a player makes can change the value of all of their pieces, and the value of their opponent's, as well. Whole strategies can be undone in one move, that took a dozen moves to set up. Every move in this 'game' has changed the parameters, and we have simply not been in a position to see that."

Charley nodded reluctantly. "I see your point, but still..." she sighed, "You're right, I know, but it still galls me, I always worry about things happening out of my sight, events I can't effect. But in this case, I thought it was all so clear, more than once! I hate being in this position!" She stood up, wiping her hands off on a piece of torn cloth. "All I can do for him, we need to get him to a hospital. Next task for T-Girl, when she returns!" Looking around, her eyes locked onto Shego, who was now standing gazing at the door to the shelter intently, as if she could actually see inside. Charley consulted her bracer, scrolling through the data on all the wounded. The boys, save for Roy, were darting back and forth to update that info.

Drakken also regarded Shego with a puzzled frown. "I think she's still confused about her feelings for Kimberley, to be honest. I suspect they don't match whatever expectations she may have had, as far as being in love with someone."

Charley sighed. "There's still a possibility that it isn't truly love that they're feeling for each other, I don't know for sure, it's new to me, too." She looked at Ron, who had just finished splinting both of a man's arms, and smiled fondly. "Way too new, it almost scares me!"

Drakken nodded sagely. "You wouldn't be the first, my dear! But, back to business, how long do you think it'll be until you gain access to this structure?"

"We're not, or at least not through the front door." Charley replied flatly, smile vanishing. "It's deadlocked, the external mechanisms are no longer connected to the locks themselves. The only way we'll get inside is if Kim or somebody else lets us in. I don't think even the Doctor could get inside it, right now!" An odd noise caused her to look up, to see Thundagirl returning through the barrier. And then, the barrier abruptly vanishing.

A feeling of disorientation swept through all the people on the island, and many who were standing dropped to their knees, or to a squatting position, as their senses swam. And the noise level suddenly went up dramatically, as all the sounds generated by the flotilla surrounding the island, and coming from the city itself suddenly flooded in.

Drakken worked his jaw to try and pop his ears, then looked around. "I suppose it was no longer worth the energy to maintain, if Thundagirl can come and go as she pleases!"

"I hope that's the only reason!" Charley consulted her comm. "Communications are still out, though." T-Girl set down, and her passengers began to disembark. One snapped an order to a second, who pulled a signal light from his gear, and moving to the water's edge, began to flash signals at the circling ships.

At least eight medical personnel were among the new arrivals, and Charley headed over to brief them as best she could on treatment priorities. Drakken walked over to Shego, and stood silently for a moment, before putting a hand on her shoulder. "Not to be overly optimistic, but if anyone can survive, and bring them all out, it's Kimberley."

Shego nodded jerkily. "I know, if anyone can, Kim can! But, I don't know what I'll do if they don't. If I'm even still around to be worried, that is!" She spotted Charley talking to a young woman of African descent among the new arrivals. Then Charley suddenly stiffened and shook her head sharply. The woman she was speaking to then moved to meet JJ, who had noticed Charley's actions and started towards her. But after a few words from the strange woman, she too was left standing still, slowly shaking her head. The woman then headed towards Belle.

"Something's up!" Shego snapped, and headed to intercept the woman, Drakken trailing behind. Beth had noticed something amiss as well, and all parties concerned converged at once. "What's going on?" Shego asked the woman as she began to speak to Belle. She hesitated, then focused on the sisters, ignoring Shego.

In a British accent, she spoke very precisely, "End Game, a lamb never lies down twice with a hungry _gvarrk." _Both Reeder sisters' expressions went blank for a moment, then Belle grimaced, and Beth shook her head.

"Huh?" Shego directed a puzzled look at Drakken. "Obviously some sort of code phrase, possibly to trigger the release of suppressed memories." The scientist speculated, looking inquiringly at the strange woman.

She grinned sheepishly, then looked at Shego. "I'm afraid I have one for you, too!" Then before Shego could say a word, the woman carefully enunciated, "Ridiculasaurus Rex!"

Shego flinched, and her eyes went out of focus briefly, before hardening, "That sawn-off, two-hearted, deceitful, manipulating, son of-Oh!" her angry tirade ended abruptly as her eyes went glassy, and her knees gave out, a look of wonder suddenly crossing her features. Ron and Drakken caught her as she collapsed, lowering her to a kneeling position. "I remember all of it..." she murmured.

"She remembers what?" Drakken asked the stranger sharply, eyes narrowed.

"Um..." she fidgeted briefly before replying, "The nine months worth of bonding between her and Kim Possible in the Rani's time-dilation machine." As they looked at her in astonishment, she held her hand out to Ron. "Martha Jones.._Doctor _Martha Jones, a friend of _the_ Doctor, who asked me to do this for him." Ron grasped her hand rather limply, being distracted by too many things to pay full attention. Martha smiled, then looked around at the injured on the ground. "I can't explain everything, and need to get to work helping with the wounded, I think your friends will eventually be able to answer all your questions adequately, please excuse me." She said apologetically, then hurried away towards a frantically gesticulating medic.

Charley and the other girls seemed to have recovered, frowns on all their faces. Ron studied his girlfriend with concern. "Charley? What's wrong?" he asked anxiously.

The girl barely seemed to register the question, but muttered, "It wasn't me...it wasn't us, it never was!" JJ nodded as if in agreement, while the Reeders looked uncertain. Then the four girls went into a huddle, whispering fiercely.

Drakken and Ron exchanged glances, then looked down at Shego, who was now hugging her knees and rocking herself back and forth on the ground. Then Ron said "Must have been some Badical memories!"

"To say the least!" Drakken replied sourly.

0000000000

Doctor Director was not enjoying her dip into the bay. For summer, the water was surprisingly cold, though the lack of a wet suit contributed to her discomfort. She was in her underwear, with a KAPGun belted around her waist. "_Any resemblance to Ursula Andress is solely present in a truly warped mind!" _she thought sourly. She also couldn't see where they were going, lying prone on the drone's deck, forced to keep her head low as the vehicle sped downwards. Raising her head above the low shield in front of her could lead to her re breather being torn out of her mouth by the water rushing past.

But soon enough the drone decelerated, and she could raise her head enough to see the airlock illuminated by the drone's lights. It consisted of a round steel hatch set in the face of a large concrete structure, just as T-Girl had described it.

It seemed to be well supported by the natural contours the island, though it didn't seem to meet the island around the back. She remembered Thundagirl's description of what she had scanned. "Some kind of concrete casement, l_owered into position and welded to a large pipe embedded in the cave mouth. Definitely not a simple operation, or easily concealed, and from the looks of it, it's been down here a very long time. I hope the hatch isn't rusted shut, we haven't the means to force it at hand!"_

The drone stopped about twenty feet from the hatch, and Betty pushed off from it and swam to the hatch, Mego trailing her, shining a light around them. The hatch had a simple wheel for opening, and it looked clean, which was an encouraging sign as far as getting inside. Betty took hold of it, braced herself, and gave it a turn. It was only slightly stiff, and she soon had the hatch open. Mego shone the light inside, detecting nothing, then gestured for Betty to enter first. He followed her inside, then turned to pull the hatch shut and secure it.

At which point, the sounds of machinery came from somewhere, and the water in the airlock began to drain out. The two occupants exchanged glances, and shrugs. At least they wouldn't have to release the water into the cave. When the water was low enough to remove their mouthpieces, Mego spoke first. "Automatic, maybe?" He asked, hopefully.

"I doubt it." Betty replied grimly. Mego grimaced and nodded agreement. When the water was down to six inches, he put his re breather aside and shrank to eight inches, then pressed himself against the inner wall, to one side of the hatch. When the water was drained, they waited for over a minute, Betty trying to ignore the goose flesh covering her exposed skin. When nothing happened, she reached out to gingerly touch the locking wheel on the inner hatch. When she wasn't immediately electrocuted, she grinned sheepishly and turned the wheel.

Warm air rushed into the lock when the hatch swung open, and Betty peered through it. She could clearly see the outline of the pipe, maybe ten foot in diameter originally, extending about thirty feet away from her. Someone had poured a concrete floor in the pipe, though it was somewhat the worse for wear. Beyond the end of the pipe, the cavern opened to the left, and from around the bend an orange glow emanated, and an odd thrumming.

Clambering through the hatch, KAPGun in hand, Betty advanced cautiously through the pipe, watchful for any traps or other devices. None were visible, but that mattered little, since it was obvious their presence was known to someone. "_But hopefully not the Matrix!"_ Betty thought. Reaching the end of the pipe, she stepped onto the natural cavern floor, and peered around the bend. A large natural chamber, possibly modified by human hands, opened before her.

It contained three large objects ofimmediate interest. A large three-sided console of advanced design, a complicated machine that looked like a merging of a pipe organ and an old pot-bellied stove, from which the glow and the noise emanated...and the Doctor's TARDIS.

The tension in Betty shifted from wariness to annoyance as she walked boldly into the chamber. "Doctor! Where are you?" A muffled noise caused her to look at the console, and then down to it's base, from beneath which two legs protruded.

Walking over and crouching down, she saw the Seventh Doctor lying on his back, a small pair of pliers held between his teeth, working on some connections in the underside of the machine. "Doctor, what the _hell_ is going on here, and what are you doing?"

The Doctor removed the pliers from his mouth and beamed at her. "I'll be finished in a minute!" He scowled at her state of undress, "If you're cold, my jacket is on top, you can put it on, but don't reach in the pockets, if you please!" He then resumed his work.

Vexed, but knowing better then to push things, Betty stood up. Mego, re-grown to his full size, was looking around, impressed. "Neat hide-out!" He spotted something beyond the machines, a large irregular lump, covered with tarpaulins. "What's that?" He asked, moving towards it.

Holding up the Doctor's jacket dubiously, Betty cast a glance in the direction Mego was moving. "No idea. Please don't touch any of the machinery, though." Shrugging, Betty slipped the coat on.

Mego rolled his eyes. "Like you needed to tell me that!" He muttered sourly, giving the glowing machine a wide berth as he proceeded with his investigation.

The Doctor suddenly popped out from beneath the machine, a satisfied look on his face. "Ah! That's done, we should be able to turn off the containment field around Go City shortly! Without it, the Matrix's plan can't succeed, so it should be forced to abandon it!" He scowled, "Unless it anticipated my move, and has a back-up!" His shoulders sagged, and he shook his head wearily. "There have been so many moves in this business that I'm no longer sure which ones were mine, anymore!"

"And just how long has this little 'game' between the two of you been going on?" Betty asked, frowning fiercely.

The Doctor made an impatient gesture. "How long is irrelevant, Brig...Doctor Director! From the moment I learned it's plan, I've been scrambling to catch up, then get ahead of it! My main advantage was not needing to work entirely through proxies, being able to intervene directly while the Matrix is stuck in one fixed location! Still, it's been a challenge, especially when the Valeyard doubled back in time, and set up this paradoxical confusion!" He looked Betty in the eye, as seriously as she'd ever seen him, "But it's the end game, now, very little room to maneuver, no time to come up with new moves, not any more!"

Betty met his gaze steadily, her anger undiminished. "And you couldn't try and obtain our voluntary cooperation, Doctor? You had to manipulate things from the shadows, pulling strings, causing confusion?"

"Yes!" He replied sharply, which caused her eyes to narrow dangerously. The Doctor quickly assumed a more placating tone. "Yes, I had to try and keep the Matrix from realizing that I'd caught on to it's game, if possible!" He sighed. "But in fact the first time I realized something was amiss far too late, resulting in the deaths of so many..Kim, Charley, Shego..." He shook himself. "The Valeyard's desperate act in using the Time Ring caught me off guard, but I managed to retain my memories of that world, which was no easy feat!" He reached over and plucked a large stained handkerchief from a pocket of the coat Betty was wearing, and mopped his brow. He then continued in a more conciliatory tone. "I'm sorry for the confusion, truly! I've tried not to force anyone to act in ignorance, or against their own best interests, but a great deal is at stake here, as usual! I had to act in the manner I did, and I can't apologize for trying to save humanity!"

Betty's anger didn't diminish. "All by yourself? No, you used other people, emphasis on _used!_ But only you knew what was going on, nobody in place to replace you, if something went wrong!"

The Doctor shook his head in exasperation. "There was no one else who could have replaced me! No one else who could have matched the Matrix's moves!" he replied testily.

"Would you two stop wasting time arguing!" Mego shouted them both down, "Doctor Director, I think you should see this!" He indicated the tarp-covered mound he was standing beside.

Betty glared at him, then at the Doctor, then reluctantly strode over to Mego. Her eye popped wide when she saw what was under the tarp. "What the hell?" She reached down and picked up a gold ingot, a very crudely formed one. The entire stack seemed to be all gold. "Someone did a very fast melt-down and recasting of these ingots!" She surmised, "Probably to remove telltale markings from them! The question is, how long have they been down here, and do they have anything to do with this whole mess?"

"Sixty-two years, and no, Doctor Director, they have nothing to do with our problems today." The Doctor replied. "Well, except this place was built to hide that gold, and the Matrix put it to it's own use." He was studying one display on the three-sided console, which displayed three columns which were slowly decreasing. The Doctor pulled out a pocket watch and consulted it. "I hope this doesn't take too long, or the Matrix may detect us!"

"Why hasn't it detected us already, Doctor?" Mego asked, forestalling Betty's asking the same question.

The Doctor assumed a guilty look. "Well, you see, the pendant I had made for Miss Possible had other purposes besides hiding her excellent health. One of which was interfering with the systems inside the shelter in a specific manner."

"Did you arrange for her to be taken inside?" Betty asked, in a chilly tone.

"No, I was merely playing the odds! From what I know of Kim Possible, it was almost inevitable that she end up in close proximity to her enemy, and mine!" The Doctor explained with resignation.

00000000000

Kim hastily bundled Milly up in a blanket, listening to the grinding noise as something tried to force the cell door closed against the prop she'd found to brace it open. She'd barely been able to lift the metal beam, but she'd gotten it into place eventually. Now she was trying to get her daughters out of the cell quickly, in case it gave way.

She'd shed the heavy and embarrassing top of her costume in favor of a too-big sweater with leather shoulder patches that she'd come across. There'd been nothing to replace the rest, though, so she still looked ridiculous, in her opinion. But now was not the time to be worried about it.

With care she lifted first Amy, then Milly, and moved quickly out of the cell. Amy was frowning, Milly merely curious about events as she gazed around at her surroundings. Kim hurried into the monitoring room, where GoGore was still lying in a crumpled heap. _"Hmm,__ don't think I killed him, or mortally hurt him, or he'd have regenerated again. Or can he, without being in his most current incarnation? No time to worry about that, Have to get the babies out!"_

She paused to study the monitors. It was getting crowded outside, Kim could see several helicopters approaching, as well as several watercraft, including what appeared to be an old fire boat. "_The shield's down, but I didn't feel anything? If time returned to normal...wasting time!" _She saw Thundagirl, but none of Team Possible were visible. Of course, the cameras were fixed at the moment, and weren't covering many areas. Like the entrance.

Suddenly, things began to get rushed outside. Most of the people she could see were moving in a purposeful manner, with occasional glances out at the water. "_Something's wrong out there! Have to get to them, try and let them in here!"_

She hurried towards the stairs up. Behind her, GoGore's body began to glow softly...

0000000000

The alarm had come from Thundagirl. As the soldiers already present organized themselves for the arrival of three more Blackhawks full of men, and the chain-of-command was sorted out, the sentient ship suddenly broadcast at full volume.

"Attention, Everyone! I have a possible threat inbound! Numerous contacts, approaching along the harbor bottom, in an arc from southwest to southeast, now counting five contacts! Moving slowly, no estimate on landfall!"

Charley snapped out of her reverie and looked around. "I was afraid of that!" she muttered.

Drakken nodded. "The shield was lowered to allow whatever is approaching to enter." he said worriedly.

"Let the military make their preparations, until T-Girl can identify what we're up against." Charley ordered the rest of the team. She looked at the other girls. "We'll have to deal with all the memory stuff later, no time for it now!" Though dubious, the other girls nodded their agreement.

"Charley, what's going on?" Ron asked anxiously, "What's changed, this time? Not sure I sure I can handle many more changes, especially about you!"

Charley smiled ruefully. "Then we could be in trouble, Ron, because this was a big one!" Then her expression became alert as she cocked her head as if listening to something. Before Ron could say anything, he heard it as well, the unmistakeable sound of the Doctor's TARDIS arriving. Others heard and recognized it as well. JJ and the Reeders gathered close to Charley, studying her reaction for a cue as to how she was going to react to this. And from the frown on her face, it wasn't going to be an entirely friendly reaction.

Martha Jones also heard it and came over, a puzzled frown on her face. "Didn't know he was planning to put in another appearance." She explained as the blue form of the TARDIS became solid. Then the door opened and out popped the tenth incarnation of the Doctor, looking very much in a hurry. As some of the military officers began to approach, he he quickly strode up to Charley and the others. For their part, Ron noticed that they didn't seem to recognize this particular Doctor, and looked wary.

A sharp gesture from the Doctor preempted Martha's attempt to speak. "Sorry, Martha, no time to talk, must do this quickly!" Then he took Charley's hand rather forcefully, and shook it vigorously. "Charley Cob..or Ward, whichever you choose, pleased to meet you, I'm the Doctor!" Without waiting for a response, he released Charley and took JJ's hand. "Jennifer Jasmine Kobayashi, I'm pleased to meet you, I'm the Doctor!" He then repeated the process which each of the Reeder sisters individually, before clapping his hands. "There, that's done! Now, I must really get going, I have some matters of my own to wrap up!"

"But Doctor!" The senior UNIT man bellowed, "Aren't you going to help us with this problem?"

The Doctor halted his dash back towards the TARDIS, looking indecisive. "Well...yes, I am helping you...going to help you, that is to say, but not here, you understand!" He stammered out, then smiled reassuringly before ducking inside the TARDIS and slamming the door. Within moments, the timeship began it's dematerialization, leaving a crowd of puzzled faces behind.

They all looked at each other, but only shrugs were exchanged, before they turned their attention back to the problem at hand. Though Ron had to take one moment for matters of a personal nature. He took Charley by the arm and led her away from the others, then spoke quietly to her. "Charley, now what's going on? What did he mean, Cob, or Ward?"

"Ward is my real last name, Ron, that's part of what I now remember. The Doctor blocked a lot of our memories for our own safety." She replied, then frowned, "But why is it safe for us to remember, now?"

"You mean now you know the names of your real parents, the ones you were kidnapped from?" Ron asked excitedly.

Charley grimaced. "Ron...yes, I now know my parents' names again, and much more, but..." Then she was cut off as T-Girl broadcast an announcement for all to hear.

"Boss, I've identified our incoming, they're (-) Battle drones!" The absent word was a set of high-pitched notes. Charley turned to look at her friends, who now looked grim, as they moved closer to her. "Class 5, from what I can detect." The sentient ship added.

"They're WHAT?" A military officer near them exclaimed.

"The race's name can't be pronounced by a human being, Sir!" Charley called to him. Suddenly aware that Ron was gripping her arm, hard enough to be felt _through_ her armor, she turned to him. His face had gone very pale. "Ron, what's wrong?"

He pitched his voice low, an edge of panic in it. "I've heard that word before, Charley! I couldn't pronounce it, either, or figure out how to write it, so I substituted another name. Lorwardans!"

"The ones from your story? You've met _them_?" Belle asked incredulously, "The big ones?"

Ron's eyes bulged. "You mean, there really are giant ones? I mean...no, the ones I saw were only four feet tall, but try making something like _that_ scary to people who have never seen one!" Then realization hit him, and he looked at the girls is surprise. "_You've _seen them, too?"

The senior UNIT officer was close enough to listen in, and now chose to interrupt. "You're referring to the Alien machines from the Scottish Incident, last summer?" He addressed the question to Ron, who nodded. His and Kim's real first encounters with extraterrestrials had occurred the previous summer, it had just taken him some time to produce a story that nobody objected to on the subject. The real live aliens hadn't much resembled the ones in his story, either.

The girls now huddled with Ron, Drakken, and the Wegos, who had completed a quick exploration of the island, as well as lending many helping hands to the troops. "Five class 5?" Beth mused aloud, "We can certainly take out two, but how do we deal with the other three?"

"First, how are you going to take out _two?" _Franklin Go asked. "...and are we really talking about giant alien war machines?" Theodore added.

Nodding, Belle and Beth exchanged knowing grins. "We have a couple of things in our personal stowage that will do the trick!" Beth declared, then they sighed deeply, "But they're one-shot weapons, so that'll leave three to go!" Belle remarked sourly.

"We'll have to see what weapons are available among these troops, and might penetrate their armor." Charley declared. "And you'd better hurry and get your stuff from the ship, we need her out of here with the wounded before the attack starts!" The two sisters nodded and ran towards Thundagirl.

The UNIT man hurried towards where the senior officers of the other forces on the island were gathered, to brief them. Charley fidgeted nervously until she saw the Reeders re-emerge from the ship, then she called Thundagirl, "T- Girl, I want you airborne before those things get here, how many more seriously wounded do you need to load?"

"Loaded and lifting now, Boss! If the Matrix closes the shield again, I'll bring the reinforcements through!" The sentient ship was indeed off the ground and headed shore ward. "I figure you have ten minutes until they come ashore, people!" She broadcast on her external speakers as she departed.

Watching her leave, Ron grit his teeth before declaring, "Guys, we still need to find a way to get inside, and save KP!"

"I'll second that!" A grim looking Shego, apparently recovered from her trip into memory, joined them.

Charley nodded grimly. "We'll find one..." She said with determination. But looking at the shelter, none came immediately to her mind...

0000000000

Well out of Mego's hearing, Betty Director stood with arms crossed, giving the Seventh Doctor her best intimidating glare. The fact the Doctor actually showed discomfort under it spoke volumes. "Doctor, for once can you start at the beginning, and tell me the whole truth?" She finally asked in exasperation, the slightest of pleas in her voice.

He didn't look at her for a moment, apparently weighing the decision in his mind, but eventually he nodded, and looked at her with a serious expression. "Yes, I suppose it's time for that. First, this whole situation is predominantly my own fault."

Betty rolled her eye, shaking her head slowly. "Somehow, that does not come as a complete surprise, Doctor." she replied levelly. How much effort it took to keep the sarcasm out of her voice, only she knew.

He acknowledged the comment with a sharp nod. "First, a little background." He began, while fishing out his watch and checking it. "There is a race that lives far away from your solar system. A popular name for them nowadays is 'The Cadres'. Their actual name, you'd never be able to pronounce. It's closest equivalent, in fact, is rather too similar to a popular Earth obscenity." He smiled briefly, but Doctor Director didn't return it in the slightest, so he continued.

"They have a great gift for the purely intellectual aspects of war. Strategy, Tactics, Logistics. They have found ways to beat several previously 'unbeatable' armies. But, to implement their plans, they had to go outside their species to acquire troops. They are completely unsuited physically for combat of any kind, you see."

"Now, they created synthetic soldiers, and some marvelous A.I.s! They even grant the latter citizenship if they develop a distinct personality and proven independent thought."

Betty interrupted for the first time. "But not their synthetic soldiers?"

The Doctor shook his head sadly. "Doctor Director, even by my admittedly broad standards, they are incapable of functioning as an independent society, for complex reasons. None of which are important with regard to this discussion!" Again, he checked his watch. "Now, even with A.I.s and synthetic soldiers like these, they still desired organic soldiers for several roles. So they've collected them from other worlds."

Betty nodded, her face creased by a severe scowl. "I believe the term is 'abducted' and I presume Earth is one of those worlds?" The Doctor confirmed her guess with a sharp nod. "And do our people know about this?"

"Yes, Doctor Director, they do." The Doctor replied, "They've known it for a fact for quite some time. You see, a very few of those abducted have returned to Earth, usually decades or even a century after being taken. The time involved being subject to the vagaries of Faster-then-Light travel both ways."

Betty's eye widened. "Just how long have these abductions been taking place, Doctor?"

"Since about 1217, give or take a decade." The Doctor replied. "Now, not all the Cadres like to use humans, in fact it's usually roughly a third of them who do. On average, one of their ships comes here every three and a half years, and takes between one and two hundred candidates."

"And how do they choose these 'candidates'?" Betty asked, clearly having difficulty keeping her outrage out of her voice.

"Well, they're usually chosen by age and gender, and usually taken from the more civilized countries, to lessen the 'techno shock', even if just a little." He hesitated briefly before finishing. "They generally chose males between thirteen and sixteen years of age, and only take females if they are accompanying the males, and also within that age group, but merely to reduce the number of witnesses. Strangely, they seem to be sympathetic to the your local governments' need to keep such things secret!" He waited for Doctor Director to process the facts and draw conclusions.

Betty thought it over for several minutes, before asking her first question. "Have our governments ever tried to interfere? Have _you_ ever tried to interfere?"

The Doctor gave her a tired look. "I can't fix everything." He replied wearily, "And the answer to the first question is, unfortunately, yes! They have _tried_ to interfere, but with the irregular nature of the Cadres' visits, and the difficulty detecting their ships, the efforts have mostly been in vain. One that wasn't occurred when the Chinese managed to pin one of the ships down, about fifteen years ago."

Interest piqued, Betty asked the obvious. "What happened?"

"They had to cover up the annihilation of an entire Motorized Rifle Battalion and some of their special operations troops." The Doctor replied with just a slight edge to his words. "Since then, other nations have taken the hint, as it were. They haven't stopped trying to find a way to stop them, but no one's made a serious try since. And they never need to cover up the abductions, as I said the Cadres themselves are very circumspect in their activities."

Betty was silent for nearly a minute before her next question. "How is it that any of these abductees ever return to Earth?"

"Ah, well, you have to understand the Cadres' mentality a bit, Doctor Director. You see, those taken are not considered slaves by them. The Cadres consider them 'contracted conscripts'. And under the terms of their standardized 'contract', they could earn a return trip to their home worlds. Mind you, after being told that due to the vagaries of FTL travel whole decades could have passed since they left, and their old lives as they knew them were long gone, many decline a return trip and choose to stay with the Cadres, or explore out there themselves."

"How many of the human ones have come back?" Betty asked.

"Oh, a couple of dozen in total, scattered from last year to...I believe the late fifteenth century." The Doctor responded offhandedly.

"And how exactly did they earn that return trip?"

"By service." The Doctor replied. "You see, earning a return trip meant accumulating 'points'. They accrued points for time in service, separately for time in combat, with those modified for intensity of combat. Points instead of decorations, citations, promotions in some cases. And for doing things that earned the Cadre as a whole any extra bonuses from their employers."

"The Cadres are mercenary?" Betty asked.

"Of a sort." The Doctor clarified, "You hire them to conduct a campaign, then step back. Once hired, they do it their way, without interference from anyone. Now, the Cadres have a Code of Ethics and Conduct for conducting warfare you might approve of yourself, and they are well known for sticking to it under all circumstances. So employers know what they are hiring, and had to live with any inconveniences they suffered due to the Cadres' method of prosecuting their campaign."

Betty decided that while this was interesting, it was time to discover it's relevance. "I have to assume that somehow Charley, and possibly her friends, were abducted by these 'Cadres'. With Charley not remembering her early years...but no, she'd have been too young to be taken, so it's not that..." She eyed the Doctor narrowly. "And I'd like to think that she didn't lie to me, that they all didn't lie."

The Doctor shook his head and waved his hands frantically. "No, no, no! They most certainly didn't lie to you, they just didn't tell you the truth! Because they don't know the truth, for their own sakes!"

"And why is that?" Betty asked dubiously.

Now the Doctor looked truly uneasy, avoiding eye contact, and shuffling his feet, but he did reply. "Because knowing the truth puts them under a death sentence."

Doctor Director's scowl was fierce. "Sentence of death from who?" It took the Doctor a long time to reply, almost exceeding Betty's patience.

"From my people, the Time Lords."

0000000000

"We really need to find a way inside quickly, Charley!" Shego snapped angrily, "Kim and the girls may be in all kinds of trouble!" She gestured at the shelter, "And it's not as if it's just going to open up on it's own, is it?"

At which point, the door to the shelter did exactly that, causing most everyone's jaw to drop in surprise.

The opening door surprised Kim as much as it had those outside. She was six feet from it when it began to slide to one side, wondering if she _could_ get it open. And then it opened on it's own. Kim stopped, momentarily blinded by the glare from outside. Then she made out Shego, and Ron standing besides her. The Wegos were flanking them, turning in surprise as well.

Then she felt something approaching behind her. Not someone, but something. And she realized what was about to happen. Blue energy blossomed around both of her hands, and both babies were suddenly enclosed in a spheres of blue energy. As Shego suddenly lunged for the doorway, Kim threw...no propelled, with barely a movement of her arms, the two spheres through the door, towards the Wegos. Ron was also moving towards her, low and fast. As soon as the spheres settled safely in the hands of the two Wegos, Kim hurled herself to her right, clear of the doorway.

Ron made it through and dove to the his right, away from Kim. Shego simply lunged through to land sprawling on the floor directly in front of the door. She felt something graze her thigh before she rolled over to the left, towards Kim. But she hadn't rolled clear of the door when a wave of force hit, and she had to brace both feet against the door sill to prevent herself being thrown back out. It was not strong enough to be lethal in and of itself, just enough to have evicted Kim from the shelter had she still been in front of the open door. But as Shego resisted it's push, it seemed to be increasing inforce.

Outside, both Wegos gazed in wonder at their nieces, the blue spheres having vanished once the boys had their arms positioned to cradle the babies. Two UNIT men ran towards the open door, only to be thrown back as the force wave hit the door. Saul dropped from above, and fought against the wave, forcing his way closer to the door. And apparently to deny him entrance, the door suddenly slammed shut.

The force wave vanished when the door closed. Ron, who had been slammed into the wall by it, groaned and slumped to the floor, rubbing his shoulder. He looked around and saw Shego lying in a heap in front of the door, apparently semi-conscious. But what caught his eye were six parallel groves, gouges even, in the floor between him and Shego. Then he spotted Kim, and alarm brought him to his feet instantly.

Ron had hit the wall shoulder first, but it looked as if Kim had impacted first with her head. A gash, bleeding freely, was visible just above her left temple, and she was obviously unconscious. And Ron knew exactly what to do. He grabbed Shego's arm, and tried to pull her glove off futilely, before remembering it needed to be released by it's wearer. "Shego! Gloves off! I mean, let me take your glove...Wait! Idiot!"

Ron grabbed Shego under the armpits and dragged her closer to Kim, then took Kim's bare hand and placed it against Shego's cheek. Immediately, green energy began to swirl around the point of contact, and flow up Kim's arm. After watching this for a minute, seeing the energy flow to the gash and gather there, Ron turned to survey the interior of the shelter. His first view was naturally of the rather innocuous upper level, but his eyes fixed quickly on the stairs. After taking a quick glance at the grooves next to where Shego had lain, he turned and advanced silently towards the stairs.

Moments later, Shego stirred and opened her eyes, to see Kim laying in front of her, some of her hair matted with blood. "Kimmie!" She sat up, shrugging off the shoulder pack with Kim's armor in it. She took in the odd appearance of Kim's garb, but ignored that as she lifted the girl's head into her lap. She stroked Kim's cheek, and the girl's eyes fluttered open. "Shego?" Her lips twitched into a faint smile, "You got in!"

"Yeah, and before anything else, I really have to say something to you." Kim's gaze cleared, and she focused on Shego's face, curious, and a bit wary. Shego snorted, then carefully pronounced the trigger phrase, "Ridiculasaurus Rex."

Kim's eyes went glassy, and Shego grimaced. "_Maybe this could have waited, it might take her a while..."_ Her train of thought was broken when Kim became _very_ alert, eyes locked with Shego's, expression unreadable. "What, Prin..umpf!"

Shego's question was interrupted as Kim reached one hand behind Shego's head and pulled her down into a kiss. A major kiss.

And green energy blossomed and enveloped them, but no pain was involved this time. Quite the opposite, in fact.

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As always, Please Read and Review.


	38. Chapter 38

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

7-8-2010 Here I go again, but hopefully this itch is finally fully scratched. I have re-written chapters 37 through 40, and apologize if someone was actually in the midst of reading this part of the story.

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"And just _why_ would your people put a sentence of death on those four girls?" Betty asked angrily, struggling to keep her voice down.

The Doctor sighed. "An old cliche, I'm afraid, 'Forbidden Knowledge'." He hesitated a moment before adding, "In point of fact, the greatest temptation a Time Lord can face!"

A sarcastic comment about how much that might cover died on Betty's lips as her brow furrowed thoughtfully. Finally she hazarded a guess. "To know when all of his lives..." Then her eye widened, "No! To know when the Time Lords as a _race_ will come to an end?"

The Doctor nodded grimly. "They saw the end of Gallifrey, thanks to me! As did I, but there are ways to handle that! In the very beginning of the Time Lords, Rassillon saw the possibility of such a thing happening, with my people being able to avoid such a disaster through foreknowledge. This 'guaranteed' immortality as a race could have led to all sorts of trouble for my people, and those we contacted." He paused, regretfully shaking his head, "A sense of invincibility can alter the behavior of even the most moral of species." He hesitated for the briefest moment before continuing, "And while we were there, we helped two other Time Lords escape...with Charley, there was no other option. And for the record, I didn't recognize the second one at the time, I was too preoccupied with how to save those girls' lives!"

"The Rani and the Valeyard?" Betty guessed. The Doctor nodded, and she winced slightly before asking "Is that why Charley knew so much about her?"

A sour look appeared on the Doctor's features. "Yes, but she shouldn't have done! I did my absolute best, with the help of others, to bury those memories under a new set, so they couldn't be traced!"

Now Betty was puzzled, but her suspicions made her frown deeply. "New set? And traced by who?"

"The Matrix!" The Doctor snapped, before making an effort to calm himself before continuing, "The original one, that is. It was aware that I had gone forward in time past the time of it's own existence, and therefore may have broken that particular Law of Rassillon! I had to find a way to hide the presence of that knowledge in the girls' heads, or it would have meant the death of them! My knowing it could be handled in other ways, until I regenerated, at which time I could block those memories from passing to my next regeneration."

"And where did the memories the girls believe in now come from? Did you make them up from whole cloth?" Betty's voice held a touch of bitter accusation in it that made the Doctor wince before answering.

"In point of fact, no, Doctor Director, those memories, with a few alterations, came from four living persons from a future age. In Charley's case, a direct descendant of her family. Who just happened to have three good friends..well, the story they told you of 'their' lives is essentially true, only a few adjustments were necessary. Name substitution, for one. Plus of course in their memories their appearance had to match their real selves."

Betty had too many questions for a moment, and decided to choose one she wasn't sure was relevant, but was nagging her. "'Her family', you say? Not a direct descendant of Charley herself?"

"Ah..No, not of Charley herself..." He grimaced slightly, "I did try to tell this story in order, please remember that! Charley's real name is Charlene Camilla Ward. Her father was a well-to-do entrepreneur in Ohio, who had seen brief service in the First World War. She had four younger brothers, including one set of twins." He hesitated slightly before finishing in a slight rush, "And her mother's maiden name was Charlotte Imogene...Possible." Betty's lack of reaction caused his eyes to narrow suspiciously. "And somehow, you already knew that?"

Betty's smile held a hint of triumph in it. "DNA analysis connected her to the Possibles, to start with. And then I went out on a limb and showed Slim Possible her picture. He's the current expert on the family's history. He recognized her face immediately because of some peculiar circumstances surrounding her disappearance. Mind you, she's a bit older then when she disappeared, which was the year 1928."

The Doctor looked slightly miffed to have part of his tale spoiled. "So, you already knew something was wrong with her story?"

Betty nodded. "Yes, but I couldn't begin to guess what. But knowing you were involved...that story about founding an organization in the future, was that true?"

"Yes, the Knights Valkyr, they'll be real enough." He regarded her warily again, "I suppose I messed up by having them think six hundred years...far too brief a time for all that they believed in to have transpired! Some of my colleagues tried to get me to stretch it, I suppose I should have listened!"

"And who were these 'colleagues'?" Betty asked next, "I'm willing to bet some of the Ar'Ithane were involved?"

"Err, yes, them...and the back-up Matrix." The Doctor replied carefully. " I needed it's help to retrieve the memories I implanted in them, and the Ar'Ithane to do the actual implanting itself. I had no idea at the time, of course..." He trailed off a bit lamely.

Betty's began to speak angrily, then stopped and shook her head, before using a more controlled tone of voice. "Of course, Charley did make contact with the Matrix somehow, and if the original tale is false...Doctor, do you have any idea when this machine of your peoples' began to plot something like this?"

"Actually, you have only to remember the reason it was built in the first place, Doctor Director, to replace the original if necessary. And in order for it to be necessary, the original had to have been destroyed, which in turn probably meant the extinction of my people." The Doctor replied quietly. "So, it may have actually began to consider this course of action the moment it became aware of it's purpose in existing."

Betty had winced at the reminder of the Time Lords' extinction, she had forgotten the implications..."Doctor, I'm sorry, that has to be a terrible burden to have to carry, to know..."

"It had to happen eventually, Doctor Director, nothing is eternal." He replied, then smiled slightly, "And I only have to remember it until my next regeneration, after all." Then he returned to their previous topic. "I had no idea what the back-up Matrix was up to at the time, I assure you! As I said, I needed to use it to build a cohesive set of false memories, and the Ar'Ithane to implant them. Then, I brought the girls to Earth...at a time and place the Matrix itself recommended, with solid reasons, or so I thought at the time. It galls me now, I'll admit, to think it may have manipulated me at the time!" He shook his head angrily, "Since the original Matrix was not allowed to upload data from the back-up, since that theoretically might include the fate of Gallifrey, my association with the back-up was safe."

"And the whole thing was out of fear that some group of Time Lords might track down Charley and her friends and extract that information from them, how Gallifrey...ended?" Betty surmised.

"And change that future..precisely, Doctor Director." Once again, the Time Lord checked his watch, clicking his tongue nervously. "Well, you already know how Charlene Ward disappeared?" He asked as he tucked the watch away again.

She nodded. "According to Slim, she and her family attended a County Fair in late August of 1928. Charlene apparently became bored sooner then her young brothers, and asked permission to walk home. Her parents weren't certain that that was a good idea, but then three classmates of hers, all boys, offered to escort her, also having become tired of the fair. Their parents consented, and they all left just after six. None were ever seen again."

The Doctor's face was grim. "If Charley had not been with the three boys, she wouldn't have been taken, the Cadre ship was targeting young males. She was only taken to avoid leaving a witness, and because she was in the right age group. Mind you, some of the Cadre weren't entirely reluctant to take girls, one of their more successful war leaders was a girl born in Elizabethan England!"

As intriguing as that revelation was, Betty stuck to her own line of questioning. "But what about the other three girls, when were they taken?"

"At the same time, though not the same place." The Doctor replied, "Marjorie Reeder was a modestly successful Broadway actress who saw little chance of hitting it big in her late thirties. But she had hopes her twin daughters would go into show business, they certainly had some appealing attributes for the profession. But until they were a little older, Marjorie sought out a husband of means to keep them all in comfort. One fellow who was interested owned a yacht, and invited the three Reeder women on a cruise from San Diego to Hawaii."

A little more relaxed now that he was relating a story, the Doctor idly studied the rim of the entrance hatch as he continued, "Also aboard was a Japanese steward and his young daughter, who helped out the maids to earn her keep. He had emigrated from Japan to America fifteen years earlier after marrying a Korean woman, which was not looked upon favorably in Japan at that time, if it ever has been. JJ's mother died of tuberculosis when she was eleven. With her father's shipboard career, it was fortunate his employer offered to let the young girl accompany her father. At least, fortunate up until this particular voyage."

"I don't suppose it's a large assumption to think they never made it to Hawaii?"

"No, though they made it within a hundred miles of the islands before being overtaken by a powerful typhoon. The yacht began to sink, and then the Cadre ship appeared. The yacht's owner had a teenaged son, and had invited a half-dozen of his schoolmates along on the trip. The Cadre took them, and the three girls as well. Different ship doing the collecting but both were based on the same mother-ship, and belonged to the same individual Cadre."

"Leaving the girls' parents to die, nice." Betty commented bitterly.

The Doctor nodded grimly. "Yes...in any event, they were taken to the Cadre in question's current base. Not a planet, mind you, each Cadre operated from a large mobile base, each with it's own supporting fleet. They hide the location of their home world as much as possible, for they have made some powerful enemies." He paused thoughtfully, tapping his chin, then continued slowly, "I don't know too many details of their early time with the Cadre, save that the four girls did form a bond. And their behavior in training caused the Cadre to test them as a team on their first campaign, giving them 'routine' assignments, or as routine as CSAR operations ever are."

"How many campaigns did they fight in?" Betty asked, "And why CSAR?"

"Just the two, Doctor Director. As to their assigned specialization..Cadre training techniques involve Virtual Reality to a high degree. And within the simulations the details are completely realistic, all the horrors possible in war experienced without filtering. But, when the subjects are removed from the program, a layer of detail is erased from their memories, making what they remember no more horrible then the average video game. The ones deemed suitable for teenagers, that is."

Betty nodded, brow furrowed in concentration. "So, they get as accurate an understanding as possible as to how the 'subject' will perform in real combat, provide realistic training, but reduce the psychological trauma? Sounds...effective, if it worked."

"Oh, it works, Doctor Director." The Doctor replied bitterly, "The drawback being, eventually they do experience the real thing, and they don't forget those memories later. In any event, the results of their training saw them formed into a CSAR team, though not all of their tasks involved combat, even on campaign. And after just two campaigns, the four of them had accumulated an impressive number of points toward their freedom, helped by a specific incident where a grateful individual gave their Cadre a huge sum as a reward for his salvation."

"And then what happened?" Betty asked, though she had a sneaking suspicion what the answer was.

The Doctor looked her in the eye and confirmed it. "I happened." He said solemnly.

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Shego suddenly, violently, hurled herself away from Kim, a shocked look on her face. Kim herself lay there blinking for several moments, a sheen of sweat covering her body, with a look of amazement on her face. "Did we...was that...I mean, I wouldn't know, I've never...Shego, did I just..." she stammered.

Shego nodded, still stunned. "Yeah, it sure felt like...I mean, it's not the way I'm used to...for instance, I'm not wiped out, I actually feel...energized! But whatever that was, it's not a bad substitute for the real thing...I mean, if it _wasn't _the real thing, that is!" She stopped and shook her head. "I'm blathering like an idiot, and even if that was what we think it was, we picked a damned inappropriate time and place to do it! And if we ever do it again, we'll have to remember to consider our wardrobe!"

Kim was momentarily puzzled, since Shego's armor looked intact. Then she looked down at herself. "Eep!" All the non-metal parts of her clothing were gone, and the carpeting underneath her was scorched. She automatically tried to cover herself, blushing red. "Why didn't it affect your armor!" She snapped, peevishly, at Shego.

Mostly recovered from her shock, Shego smirked. "Well, this armor was designed to resist my plasma, after all! Your clothes, on the other hand...Oh! I've got your armor with me!" She snatched up her discarded shoulder pack and tossed it to Kim, who had realized how silly her modesty was under the circumstances. She sent Shego a grateful look, pulled out her armor, then got to her feet to dress.

She tossed the metal girdle of her slave girl costume to Shego, who picked it up and examined it curiously. Then her eyes widened in surprise. "Princess, this stuff is platinum!" she snatched up a discarded bracelet. "This, too! Whoever made this outfit wasn't going cheap on materials!"

Kim merely shrugged, scowling. "Like I care!" She finished settling the suit in place, and activated the armor. "Let's get going! First we have to see if GoGore recovered from the beating I gave him yet!"

The platinum hit the floor as Shego shot to her feet, the look on her face pure fury. "Where is he!" She snapped, and Kim flinched involuntarily at her tone. But she sensed now was _not_ the time to try talking Shego out of committing mayhem on the villain. But she wasn't going to allow murder, either. Right now, though, she just gestured towards the stairs. "This way."

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When Ron had reached the foot of the stairs, he grimaced briefly at the dissolving corpse of the Master simulacrum, then spent several moments studying the monitors. He spotted JJ briefly, and Belle, but none of the cameras showed Charley. Finally turning away, he spotted something lying on the floor. Kim's disguise pendant. Scooping it up, he studied it curiously. Just then he heard a faint noise some kind of tapping, coming from behind the stairs themselves. He pocketed the pendant, then went to investigate.

Ignoring the doors to the laboratory and the cell area for the moment, he circled around the stairs, and spotted a door behind them that was almost completely flush with the wall. He moved silently forward and placed his ear against the door. He heard nothing with his ears, but felt something in his mind... He searched for a means to open the door, and was having no success, when there was a quiet 'click' and the door popped open an inch. A half-grin appeared on his face momentarily, then it set in a determined, focused expression as he pushed through the doorway.

He found himself on an enclosed staircase that doubled back on itself just below. "_How big _is _this place? I know I got lost in the TARDIS, but can this place be as big?" _He descended cautiously, keeping his back pressed against the wall, until he could see down to the bottom of the next flight. From what he could tell, hallways went three different directions from the bottom. "_Great! If someone just came down, hope he left some clue which way he went!"_

Reaching the foot of the steps, He found his choices reduced to two...maybe. To his right, the hall appeared to be a dead end after ten feet, but there was no apparent purpose to the extension, which made him suspicious. To the left, the hall ended in a door, also after ten feet. While straight ahead it ran thirty feet before ending in yet another door. Midway to it, there were doors on each side of the hallway. "_These doors and corridors look too normal, not like something from another planet! But then, the whole decor does, I wonder if it adapts to the planet it's on? Four doors to choose from, which to start with?" _But even as he thought this some instinct drew him to the left, and he moved directly to that door, hesitated, then entered.

He found himself in a small room, faintly lit, with walls on which a swirling blue pattern appeared. In the center of the room was a cylindrical column, black, with a wide silver base. Frowning, Ron raised a hand towards it, then stepped forward. He ignored a sharp tug on his pants leg, instead stepping right up and placing his hand on the column, then putting his ear against it.

He stood there for a minute, a puzzled look growing on his face. "Charley?" He whispered.

"I don't think so, my boy." Came a voice from the doorway, causing to him to spin around and drop into a ready stance.

What he saw there however caused him to become less wary, and far more puzzled. "Who are you?" He finally managed to ask.

"That, young man, is an excellent question!"

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On the roof of the shelter, four curious men, two of them Rangers, two of them Marines, forming two sniper teams, watched the Reeder sisters assemble two curious apparatuses. Each consisted of a four-legged stand, the legs adjustable in length. On the stand was a framework designed to cradle a ten inch long by three wide cylinder, which each of the two sisters were gingerly easing into place on their individual weapons. On one side of the stand, a thin rod extended upwards about two feet, then bent 90 degrees and extended away from the stand about eighteen inches. At the end of the rod was mounted a scope of some kind, with a large eyeshield on it.

After satisfying themselves with the cylinders' placement, the two girls each began to enter numbers on a small keypad on one side of the stand, while also adjusting the legs' height to insure that the cylinders were above the eleven inch parapet of the shelter roof. "I'm going to set Red to 3, Green to 1, and Blue to 5." Belle informed her sister, then looked up to see as alarmed look on Beth's face. "What?"

"Oh, nothing at all, except with the composition of their outer shells, that setting could result in nuclear fission, that's all!" Beth replied sarcastically.

Belle's face paled, then flamed red. "Oops, My Bad!" She turned her attention to the keypad again. "How about Red at 1?"

"Move Green to 6, and that should be cool." Beth replied after a moment's consideration. They paid no attention to their audience, who exchanged puzzled looks before turning to their own preparations.

After a moment, however, Belle looked up and announced aloud, "When we fire these things, they're going to make a very sharp report, ear protection is highly advised!" Then after a moment's hesitation she added apologetically, "And, the surviving machines may just target this rooftop in response!"

On the ground, Charley and JJ, with Drakken hovering nearby, were conferring with the leaders of the various military contingents about which of their weapons would be effective at stopping their approaching enemies, and no one was happy with the conclusions they were reaching.

Charley gestured at the 84mm recoilless rifles that both the Marines and Rangers had brought with them. "Those won't penetrate their armor, though they may disable some peripheral systems. Weapons, maybe." She looked at the UNIT representative. "And your big gun was wrecked when the helicopter it was on crashed?"

The man nodded grimly. "Besides, it had a thirty second recycle time, and a big signature, probably would have only survived one shot!"

"Well, that still would have been one more kill!" The Marines' commander observed sourly, before looking at Charley. "You're sure what you have can kill two of them?"

Charley nodded confidently. "Oh, yeah. You form a marble-sized Black Hole inside a machine for three seconds, it tends to wreck it pretty thoroughly!" Several jaws dropped at that, then Drakken stepped closer and spoke up.

"Excuse me, Gentlemen, Charley." He began, then smiled at the frowning military types, who had no idea who he was, "Professor Kedden, and I was just wondering, did you bring anything with you that you hoped would breach the shelter's walls, or maybe it's roof?" That caused Charley and JJ to nod slowly, with Charley looking approvingly at Drakken.

"Well, yeah..." The Air Force man began, "In fact, we have some...well you can call it 'super-thermite' or nano-thermite, either works." He pointed to some sealed containers nearby. "Those are roof-breaching charges, we brought two, they burn far hotter than any devices we've used before."

"But how do we use them against these things?" One Marine officer asked, checking his watch apprehensively. "As land mines? They're too big to throw."

"Leave that to me." Charley replied, giving Drakken a grateful smile. Then she frowned. "But that still leaves one, and I'd hate to deal with it the hard way." She added significantly, looking JJ in the eye."

JJ responded with a wan grin. "Against a Class Five? _Not _going to be fun!"

"Good!" Charley replied solemnly, "War isn't meant to be fun!" Then she grinned back at JJ. "I'm glad we have our _real_ memories back, they're more use against these things!" She declared quietly, so only JJ could hear.

"Yeah," JJ replied, "But what happened to our 'future' memories? I remember everything we've told people, and I know we weren't lying, so why can't I remember any of that stuff?"

Charley shook her head. "No idea, and we have no time to figure it out, now! Let's get these charges ready..." She trailed off, frowning in puzzlement, head cocked as if hearing something. "Ron?" she muttered, then shook her head and went to talk to whoever was responsible for the breaching charges.

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"I was alone, for the first time in a long time." The Doctor told Betty, "And I was seriously thinking of never taking a companion with me again. But then I landed on the Cadre base ship where the girls lived, and...well, to make a long story short, I averted a disaster, with their help! Afterward, the Cadre found themselves indebted to the four of them. After all, preventing the destruction of the Cadre base scored them some big points!"

"How nice!" Betty replied sarcastically.

A smile flitted across the Doctor's face briefly. "Yes, well they added it all up, and the girls had not only earned a trip home, but some additional benefits as well. For instance, four A.I. personalities that had been linked with Charley wished to accompany her, and this was permitted."

"The boys, obviously." Betty commented.

"Yes, but just their programs, not their bodies. Mind you, those could be changed by the Cadres to suit various mission needs. So the A.I.s in question were very flexible! And in addition, a ship A.I. who had developed almost maternal feelings toward the four of them also asked to come along. This too was granted."

Now Betty was surprised. "Thundagirl? Ahhh, I should have thought of that, if the rest of the girls' story was untrue, where did she come from?"

"Yes, I wondered when that would occur to you." The Doctor replied with a quick grin, "For the record, _I_ never altered Thundagirl's memories, though the Matrix may have. You see, her program was stored in a receptacle aboard the TARDIS when we were on Gallifrey, so she didn't 'see' anything dangerous. And the Boys' programs were stored in memory chips on a necklace Charley wore, but they received no input, so they didn't witness Gallifrey's impending doom, either. I had the Ar'Ithane create bodies for them later, deliberately making Thundagirl's appearance fit with the girls' new memories."

"And Thundagirl has known the truth all along?" Though there was no accusation in Doctor Director's tone, the Doctor felt it necessary to speak in T-Girl's defense.

"Yes, and she went along with it to keep the girls safe. She'd do practically anything to protect them, Doctor Director. In fact, she'd..." Betty cut him off short with a gesture.

"Tell me something I haven't already guessed, Doctor!" She said with a faint smile. "I've noticed how fierce she is at times. A remarkable achievement in Artificial Intelligence, as Doctor Laird understated the case! But if these Cadre can make more like her, I wonder why they need organic beings at all?"

"They have their reasons, and even I have to admit that they're logical ones, Doctor Director." The Doctor replied mysteriously. "But back to our original topic, you can easily guess what happened. I impulsively offered to give them a ride home, but things didn't go as planned. I responded to a signal, and the TARDIS was drawn to the end of Gallifrey. By the time I realized we might be heading for forbidden times, it was too late, I couldn't alter her course! That part still puzzles me, I will admit. But all that matters is that it led me to the point of altering those young women's lives even more then they'd already been disrupted. And, it prevented me from returning them to their own time and place, though truthfully that may have been a bad idea for all but Charlene. Reuniting her with her parents..." He sighed quietly, "Well, that's all water under the bridge, no going back now!"

"I still can't understand how, after the explosion in that other world, that the Matrix was able to again use the girls in it's plans, and didn't oyu bring them back to Earth, yet again?"

Now the Doctor looked embarassed. "Actually, I haven't quite figured that out myself! I have some theories, but I'm afraid they'd go right over your head, Doctor Director!"

Arguing that point with the Doctor was certainly futile, so Betty shifted the topic back to the girls. "So, now the girls have to live with false memories for the rest of their lives?" She asked pointedly, "Never knowing the truth about where they came from, all of it?"

The Doctor shrugged helplessly. "I see no way of making it safe for them to remember, Doctor Director! Trust me when I say..." Then his brow furrowed, and he cocked his head as if listening. Moments later, Betty heard the cause of his concern, or rather confusion.

The sound of a TARDIS materializing...

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"This is not good." Kim muttered as she and Shego stood at the foot of the stairs, "GoGore was _right there_, I swear he was!" she gestured emphatically at the spot where she'd left the villain unconscious.

"Easy Princess, I believe you!" Shego replied calmly as she looked warily around, "It just means he recovered from you hitting him..which I admit is unlikely _this_ quickly, or he changed bodies again." She gestured at the nearly dissolved body of the pseudo Master. "Sure that isn't him?"

Kim shook her head sadly. "No, that's the guy who abducted me..."

"And the girls?" Shego growled.

"No, that was someone else, this man took me, but when he realized what was at stake, he switched sides." Kim explained.

Shego responded with a noncommittal grunt, then suddenly her eyes widened as she remembered something. "Stoppable! He got through the door ahead of me!" She looked quickly around. "But where did he disappear to?"

"We've got to find him!" Kim responded urgently. She pointed at the door leading towards her former cell. "Better try this way!"

It took them only minutes to search the rooms in that direction, including the one the babies had been in. Kim noticed that the prop she'd used to hold the cell door open was gone, though the door remained open. But there was no sign of Ron.

The door into the laboratory area was sealed in some manner that resisted both force and Shego's plasma. Frustrated, they spent several minutes studying the video feeds from outside. They saw Drakken working on the breaching charge, and Charley suddenly collapse, which made both women even more anxious.

While Kim chewed her lip and dug her nails into her palms, Shego spun and paced away along one wall, and spotted the door Ron had found. "Princess! Over here!" She called, bringing Kim hurrying to her side. The door was still ajar, and after an exchange of determined glances and one look back at the screens, they descended.

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"There, that should fix it, Captain!" Doctor Drakken said with obvious satisfaction as he examined the firing circuit for one of the breaching charges, "I take it these are relatively new? Otherwise, I'd have to develop a very poor opinion of your quality control!" He started to rise from his knees, and received a boost from Charley. He started to nod gratefully to her, when he saw an odd shimmer just behind her head. The next moment he staggered as she fell against him, suddenly limp. "Miss Cob?"

A loud shriek emanating from Ben caused all around them to look in surprise as he and the other three skulls streaked through the air towards Charley, though their focus was actually the green skull, George, who had been the source of the strange shimmer and now became visible hovering in front of Drakken's eyes. Something dangled in the air in front of him, appearing to be a mesh made of extremely fine gold wire. The mesh dropped to the ground as Ben vanished yet again and apparently departed, leaving Charley's boys buzzing angrily in frustration as they circled over their fallen mistress.

"Oh my God!" JJ cried as she dropped to her knees next to Charley as Drakken lowered her to the ground, but with his eyes on the the object George had dropped. He already had a suspicion as to what it might be, and JJ confirmed it, even as an Air Force medic knelt down to check Charley's condition.

Looking at the tangled mass of tiny wires, JJ spat out angrily,"He pulled the interface out of Charley's head! That damn machine is fighting dirty!"

"You mean, there was a physical interface to allow her to interact with her skulls?" Drakken asked as he tried to pick up the fallen device, and found that it seemed to be disintegrating as he touched it. "Blast!" He cursed under his breath.

"Yes!" JJ snapped, stroking Charley's forehead, "Interact, and boost their teleport capability! Without that in her head, our plan to deal with the fifth machine just went out the window! And don't bother trying to save that, according to the Cadre doctors who put it in, it shouldn't even have physical substance anymore! Once implanted...guess they didn't figure on a Time Lord computer wanting it out again!" She spat out angrily.

Casting a quick glance out at the water for any sign of the approaching enemy, a Ranger captain asked, "And how exactly were you planning to disable the fifth machine before?"

"'port on top of it..." JJ pulled a disk shaped blue object similar in dimensions to a Frisbee from a hip pouch, "Use this to paralyze the machine for a minute or so, then try and cut through to it's control node with this.." She indicated a fat cylindrical object that Charley had strapped to her thigh. Both items had been brought from Thundagirl by the Reeder sisters earlier. "We need the machine immobile to use this, it has to be held very steady for it's cutting beam to focus, and it bucks like nobody's business!"

"I don't understand what you mean by Charley 'boosting' the boys teleport capability." Drakken asked.

JJ cast an anxious glance out at the water. "No time for a long explanation...Charley has a latent psychic ability, psychoportation. The Cadre doctors believed it runs in her family, probably her mother's side. It's so weak it can only be used by instinct normally, conscious control is impossible. Supposedly, she might actually 'will' herself a few extra inches when she jumps, sustain her momentum a second of two longer, or even reduce it slightly. Not much, just a very little. But the Cadre found ways to use that latent ability and channel it through the boys, boosting their normal teleport capability. They can still move stuff on their own now, but they might have to network and combine their powers to move heavy stuff, a hundred pounds or so would be the max for them all together without Charley. I mean, that's why Fred and Saul could only 'port the babies down in Thailand, not Kim or Shego."

"And who are these 'Cadre'? Another race you met in the future?" Drakken asked, puzzled.

JJ winced, but was saved from explaining the latest memory madness by a call from Belle. "We've got movement! Think the leader's about to break the surface!"

JJ grabbed hold of Charley's shoulders and lifted as the medic took her feet. "Time for explanations later, Doc—Professor!" Then she added under her breath, "Assuming there is a 'later', of course!"

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Already caught off guard by the sudden appearance of a stranger he hadn't heard enter, Ron was staggered suddenly as he felt a wave of anger violently radiate out from the cylinder in the center of the room. He turned towards it even as he staggered, and the stranger caught him just before he lost his balance and fell. "Steady there! Don't worry, I believe our friend here was being forced to do something, and has just been released!"

"Friend? Forced? What do you mean..I mean, who are you! Why does that thing feel like Charley?" Ron's logical mind was trying desperately to assert some sort of control and stop the babbling, but was having little success. The hawk-nosed old man with thinning white hair made a placating gesture.

"Calm down, my boy, calm down." The old man replied soothingly. Then he indicated the column. "This device is somehow imprinted with the abilities, and personality, of a living being, either dead or alive now. But I believe it to be enslaved by a more powerful entity, artificial or organic, though not controlled at all times. That last part is purely conjecture, of course, but I noticed the presence of emotion in it, until just before you came in. Then it seemed to be stifled, until that outburst we just felt."

"It's the Matrix!" Ron exclaimed heatedly, "That's what's responsible! It must have copied Charley's brain, in order to operate it's own set of skulls!"

Ron's first three words had caused the old man's eyes to narrow, and the rest went unheeded. "The Matrix? And what do you know of that?" He said suspiciously.

"Not the original!" Ron responded without thinking. Then he looked at the old man warily. "I mean, this is just the back-up, sort of."

The old man had his lapels in his hands, fingers drumming as he digested that statement. Finally he said "So, they built it, did they? I remember the Chief Archivist saying it was a ridiculous measure, it would never be needed. I objected as well, though for different reasons..." He trailed off thoughtfully.

Ron now studied the man curiously. He was wearing checked trousers and a battered coat over a white shirt. He seemed old...but if he was, as Ron suspected, another aspect of the Valeyard, then who? And then it struck him, and he barely avoided blurting out his conclusion. Instead, he remembered what the man had said before. "You don't know who you are?"

Startled out of his reverie, the man drew him self up and regarded Ron imperiously. "Well, that's not strictly true!" But then he grimaced slightly, "Or maybe it is!" He muttered in disgust. "I thought I knew who I was, I thought I lived a decent life, then passed away! But instead, there have been fleeting moments since then, hours at a time at most. Waking in strange places, sometimes dressed outlandishly! On this occasion, I woke up wearing leather trousers, of all things! Then I found these clothes...I don't know, there's something not quite right here!"

Ron bit his lip, then nodded to himself. "I think I can explain some of it to you." He began...

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Mego, the Doctor, and Betty Director eyed the newly arrived TARDIS with apprehension. It had materialized right next to the Seventh Doctor's time machine, the doors of the two aligned side-by-side. And now the doors swung open, and out stepped the Tenth Doctor.

His earlier self studied him warily. "And who are you?" He asked.

The Tenth Doctor sucked air in through his teeth, then replied almost apologetically. "I'm you, the tenth regeneration."

The Seventh Doctor studied him narrowly, then shook his head. "No, I don't feel it in you..." He said doubtfully.

"Ah..that's because I've never been linked to the Matrix, so we can't sense our bond." His newer self replied.

The other Doctor's eyebrows rose. "Never linked to the Matrix? Willingly? Or..." Then comprehension dawned, and a grim look appeared on his countenance. "Ah, I see...I survived." It wasn't a question, merely a flat statement of fact.

"Yes." The other replied, almost reluctantly. "I survived."

They were both silent for a minute, then the Seventh Doctor asked "And why are you here, now?"

"Ah, well...I Just had a friend of mine tell Charley and her friends the code phrase to restore their own memories and erase the false ones." The reply was rapid, but not quite fast enough for him to continue uninterrupted. "And then..."

"You WHAT!" The Seventh Doctor's bellow made Mego shrink two feet out of reflex, and even Betty flinched, despite her own state of shock, switching to anger rapidly. "Are you Mad!" The Doctor continued, "Do you know what you've done! You've put those four girls..."

"And then I introduced myself to them..." The Tenth Doctor interjected quietly, almost unheard in the rant.

"..in great danger! Our people will find them and then they'll..." Then he paused, before adding quietly, "You introduced yourself?" The Doctor's angry look faded to be replaced by one of dawning comprehension, "That—you mean, you...that's...Brilliant!" He exclaimed, a wide smile appearing on his face, "Of course, I couldn't have done it, obviously, since I would have needed to know you existed..."

"Would someone explain to me what's going on, and why what he did is so 'brilliant'?" Mego asked testily. Having missed most of Doctor Director's conversation with the Seventh Doctor, he was more than confused.

"By introducing himself to the girls.." Betty explained before either Doctor could speak, "He connected them to his own life, technically making them 'off limits' to the original Matrix, if I understand correctly." Both Doctor's nodded enthusiastically, beaming widely until her next words. "Which, if that was all that was needed, was unnecessary, since they've already met the Rani's post-Gallifrey self, which I'd think would serve the same purpose?"

Both Doctors stopped smiling, eyes blinking, then they looked at each other. "Wellll..." The Tenth began grudgingly, "Maybe that would have been enough...but it's better to be safe then sorry, right?" He ended in a chipper tone, smile faltering in the face of Betty's stern look. "Anyway, I have to be going, this sort of thing is against the rules, you know."

He looked to his earlier self for agreement, but instead saw suspicion. "But you no longer have to worry about those, do you?" The Seventh Doctor asked.

The Tenth Doctor bit his lip briefly, then replied soberly "Yes, I do, even if no one is around to make me obey anymore. I've learned that lesson just recently...never mind, I must be going!" He reached out and clasped Betty's hand. "Goodbye, Doctor Director...Betty, keep an eye on those girls, will you? They have important destinies. And so does Kim, as if you couldn't guess that!" He smiled warmly, but the smile vanished quickly. "I...have to go, sorry." He released her hand and stepped back, entering the TARDIS almost hastily.

The Seventh Doctor watched it fade away, a contemplative look on his features. Then he snapped out of it and hastily pulled his watch out again, concern appearing on his face. Mego had just started to speak, "Is someone going to explain..." When the Doctor seized both of them by an arm and guided them forcefully towards the console.

"No time, I'm afraid!" He snapped, indicating the control terminal. "Now, look at these readouts! When all three of those indicators lower into the blue range, it's safe to shut the containment field down! You do that by taking both of these levers here, and pulling them back to the stops. Do it in one smooth pull, no stops, no hitches! Now, I have to go, to try and stall the Matrix!" He headed for his TARDIS, after collecting his umbrella and hat.

"Is that wise, Doctor?" Betty called after him, "I thought the Matrix could read your thoughts if you confront it directly!"

"I never said I was going to confront it directly!" The Doctor replied, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!" Then he was inside the TARDIS, and the white light atop it began to flash.

"Where have I heard that before?" Betty commented dryly as the time machine completed it's noisome departure.

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Kim and Shego faced far less of a dilemma when they reached the bottom of the stairs, as far as choosing a direction. They could clearly hear faint voices coming from the partially open door to their left, one of them Ron's.

Kim began a cautious approach to the door as she tried to make out the words being said. Shego however frowned at the closed door at the far end of the corridor. She felt something, but couldn't quite decide what. The door definitely made her uneasy. She trailed after Kim, but kept the other door in sight as long as she possibly could.

Kim paused just short of the door. She heard Ron saying, "And that's the whole story, as far as I know. Short version, that is!"

"I see, I see...most disturbing, if true..." came a subdued reply. Kim peered around the corner and her eyes widened as she recognized the man Ron was talking to from her dream about the Doctors. Her conversation with the Master also came to mind. _"So, beating up GoGore made him revert to his first incarnation, the Doctor?" _

Kim stepped quickly into the room, and Ron grinned widely as he caught sight of her. She smiled back while studying her surroundings. She sensed Shego entering behind her, and then became aware of the intense scrutiny with which the Valeyard was regarding her.

Shego looked at the old man with a confused scowl on her face. She nudged Kim and whispered "Is that..."

Kim nodded, and whispered back. "His original self, identical to the original Doctor." The scowl on Shego's face only deepened as she tried to reconcile her hatred of the Valeyard with the frail old man before her.

"I may be identical, young lady," The Valeyard addressed Kim, who blushed faintly at having been overheard, "But if this young man is telling the truth, that may not last for long!" He placed one hand on his chest, fingers gently drumming, face becoming unfocused. "This is a bad business. I told Rassillon, I told them all, that cloning was not wise. Too many changes made in our genetic structure to create the Time Lords, there were certain to be problems! And now it seems I was right, how ironic that I became the subject of that foolish experiment!"

"Sir, we understand how disturbing this may all be." Kim told him, "But right now, we need to concentrate on stopping the Matrix's plan, no matter what it takes!"

The Valeyard peered keenly at her for a moment, then nodded decisively. "You're absolutely right, my child, we need to act immediately!" He looked at the cylinder in the center of the room, and mused aloud, "I'm not sure anything can be accomplished here, however! We need to get to the heart of the matter, as it were!" He looked at the three of them in turn. "Anyone know where that might be?"

Kim nodded. "I think I know precisely where we need to go!"

"That's all well and good," Shego remarked warily, "But has anyone else begun to worry about what the Matrix is going to do to stop us?"

They all exchanged glances, then Ron grinned weakly. "I suppose it would be too much to hope that it doesn't have anything inside the shelter to stop us with?" But even as he said it, Ron felt something from that part of him connected to the Mystical Monkey Power. And he didn't like the feeling.

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IN a chamber not far away, a containment field switched off. The occupant of that field stirred lazily and cast it's senses out by reflex. After a moment, a sense of amusement and anticipation swept through it as it became fully awake.

It would have shaken the twin-hearted female who had 'captured' the creature to have known that her containment field had no hope of actually holding it had it chosen to leave. It had the benefit,however, of shielding out disturbing frequencies and allowed the creature to enjoy a nice, long, nap. It had occasionally awakened and taken a look around, but nothing had excited it, nothing had offered any kind of challenge. But now...

IT detected the unstable twin-heart and three other creatures, two female and one some kind of mutant, but it ignored them to focus on the fourth, a male. The male was connected to some kind of powerful mystic force, a force that the creature sensed was fully aware and filled with apprehension about it. And well it should be. The creature measured the strength of the power as it mentally 'stretched' itself. A challenge, to be sure, but one that should be easily won. Still, it was better than just going back to sleep again.

With that thought, the creature began to glide towards the entrance to it's 'prison', maliciously savoring the thought of what it was about to do...

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As always, please Read and Review.


	39. Chapter 39

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

7-8-2010 Here I go again, but hopefully this itch is finally fully scratched. I have re-written chapters 37 through 40, and apologize if someone was actually in the midst of reading this part of the story.

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The first of the alien war machines broke the surface nearly a hundred yards offshore. It paused briefly as water poured of it's highly polished body, then began to advance slowly shoreward. In pairs the remaining four emerged, flanking the first and extending their line, with roughly fifty feet between machines.

They strode forwards quickly in the shallowing water and relatively solid footing. Unlike Ron's version, the four three-jointed legs on the machines were mounted below the outer rim of their bodies, which were saucer shaped. Two sensor turrets were mounted centrally, one on top and one underneath the body. Two tentacles extended from points just behind and beneath the front of the body, and two multi-jointed arms from the upper body, set to either side of the sensor turret. The tentacles ended in saw edged pincers, while the arms each had a metal sphere at their tip. They stood thirty feet from ground to belly, and were about forty-two feet tall, in total.

Taken to cover behind the shelter and laid down moments before, Charley's eyes now snapped wide open. Then she blinked rapidly, a scowl on her face. She noticed the boys hovering around her, but that only made her scowl with more intensity. She sat up gingerly, and the first thing she saw were Shego's twin brothers, huddled farther along the rear wall of the shelter, the two baby girls in their arms. Charley winced. _"Why didn't I make sure they got out on Thundagirl!" _But after a moment, her steadying memory answered that question. _"Right, they were still in the shelter when T-Girl left the last time, got to get my head back in the game! What happened to me?"_

She was already almost sure of the answer, and now tried to test her theory. She was now getting normal visual input, at normal speed. She didn't see the multiple views her boys fed her, nor the accelerated interpretation of what she usually saw when disconnected. _"Interface neutralized, or destroyed? Removed? How could that have been done? And what kind of danger am I in from it's removal? Bleeding in my brain, maybe too faintly to detect? No, wait, the boys would be able to see it, and fix it. But still, a nasty way to ruin part of our plan...SNAP!"_

She shot to her feet, then spent a moment leaning heavily against the wall as the world spun around. From behind her came the voice of Doctor Drakken. "Are you all right, Charley?"

Any calm and reasonable answer Charley might have made died on her lips as the military opened fire on the war machines. "No point in worrying about that now!" She shouted above the din, then ran quickly to one corner, peered cautiously around it, and then sprinted towards JJ, who was crouched behind a fairly substantial rock. The boys flocked after Charley.

JJ greeted her with a grim smile. "Nice to see you're not going to miss the fun! Now the question is, how do we deal with Machine number 5?"

Charley responded with a similar grin. "First let's see if we can manage four like we planned, we may miss one or two, then our worries are likely to be over!" She turned to her skulls, Finding all but Ben scanning her head. "Forget about that now, boys! You know the plan, let's get to it!" All but Fred cloaked immediately and flew away. The black skull studied her a moment longer before bobbing and departing.

On the rooftop, the Reeder sisters both had their eyes to the targeting scopes of their odd weapons. Belle was targeting the machine on the left end of the line, Beth the right. Almost everything the troops were firing was bouncing off, the exception being a round which came from one of the 84mm recoilless rifles, which hit one of the lower tentacles on the center machine near it's roots. It began to spasm uncontrollably for a moment, sparks shooting from it, then went limp as the machine itself shut it down.

With the machines inside, the barrier around the island snapped back into existence, just in time to deflect two Hellfire missiles which had just been launched by Apache gunships. Both missiles hit the barrier and were smashed down and away, drawing frustrated curses from the helicopter crews. Those curses were matched by the newsmen on the watching boats, their view being once again distorted.

The machines quickly responded to the fire directed at them. The tentacles' pincers spread wide, and small balls of yellow energy shot out of muzzles between the pincers, exploding violently when they hit the ground, tossing soldiers around like rag dolls. The spheres mounted on the upper arms fired bolts of dark red energy which shrieked through the air and triggered convulsions in any soldier they hit near, though they did no visible damage to the rocky surface of the island.

"ON THREE!" Belle yelled, "One!...Two!...THREE!" The Marine sniper team's spotter glanced their way as they triggered their weapons. To him, the cylinders in the weapon suddenly seemed to elongate, and possible become thinner the nearer they stretched towards their targets, but he couldn't tell for sure. In front of them the light itself seemed to be bent into a narrow vortex that reached out towards each of the flanking machines. Then cylinders and vortexes vanished, and a high-pitched _crack_ sent pain through his ears, even though he had filters to protect his hearing from the reports of the big .50 rifle his partner fired.

Then it almost looked as if a giant invisible fist had grabbed the body of each of the flanking machines and _squeezed_. Their hulls crumpled inwards with a series of high-pitched shrieks, pulling the legs so close together at the top that they all touched. One of the machines then began to topple over, back towards the water, while the second remained upright due to the positioning of it's now locked legs.

Even as the Reeders shouted "YES!" in stereo, the remaining three machines stopped in their tracks, sensor turrets swiveling to and fro. Then the turrets of all three locked on the shelter roof. "COVER!" Beth shouted, and swung her body flush against the parapet, flattening herself as much as possible. Belle followed her example, as did the two snipers, but their spotters found it more practical to simply dive over the sides and risk a hard landing.

The weapons of all three machine raked the rooftop and parapet, and the four people remaining on top screamed as their bodies convulsed spasmodically.

Above the two machines that now formed the flanks of the attack, a faint shimmer denoted the presence of Ben and Roy. Beneath the hovering skulls, the two breaching charges now appeared, then dropped to the tops of the machines, both a little forward and to the left of the sensor turret. That rotated quickly to study this intrusion, but before any countermeasures could be initiated, the charges ignited.

Brilliant white fire, easily visible even in broad daylight, formed a circle on the top of each machine. It lasted for only fifteen seconds, but by that time it had burned all the way through the armor plated outer hull. But not all the way to the control node. So the two skulls initiated their own Plan B. They dove through the white-hot openings into their respective target's innards.

Both machines had ceased fire when the super-thermite began to burn, and the third now paused to determine the cause of it's companions' actions.

The machine on the left, into which Ben had dove, now began to convulse. It's weapons arms and tentacles went limp one at a time, then it's leg joints began to buckle. It collapsed slowly forward to smash face-first into the rocky beach. Ben flew out of it invisibly just before it impacted.

But the other machine didn't fall. It did stagger a bit. Then it briefly walked sideways, then forwards, bumping the undamaged machine.

JJ looked at Charley incredulously. "Is Roy trying to drive that thing?"

Charley shrugged. "If you call that driving." She replied dryly, "He should just wreck it, in case he loses control!" Then she saw the machine in question stagger a couple of steps into the water, before one of it's tentacles raised, and a blast of energy staggered the remaining machine.

"This might work..." JJ said hopefully. Only to see Roy's machine, trying to move to one side, tangle two of it's legs and fall towards the water. "..or not.." JJ finished sourly. The machine kept right on falling, helped by a double blast from the surviving machine's tentacle blasters.

But the diversions caused by first the breaching-charge attack, then Roy's improvisation, had given the troops a respite, and an opportunity to collect their wounded and get them to cover. Their weapons wrecked, the two snipers on the rooftop and the Reeder sisters did their best to help each other off the roof.

But that left one big problem remaining. Looking upwards at the towering machine, Charley hefted her KAPgun. "This does not look good." She remarked, and JJ sighed, nodding in agreement. "Maybe we can damage a joint by hitting it simultaneously with thermal and kinetic bolts?" Charley ventured cautiously.

JJ shrugged, drawing both of her pistols. "Only thing I can think of to try!" Then her eyes narrowed. "We may have caught a break, though, it looks like Roy's attack may have jammed the lower sensor turret in place!" The words were hardly out of her mouth when the red skull uncloaked between the two girls, and uttered a mournful sound. JJ smiled at it. "You did your best, little guy, we'll just have to do ours!"

"You might be right about that sensor turret, JJ. We may be safe directly beneath it." Charley then looked at her and grinned sourly. "You ready?"

"You mean, unless it steps on us?" JJ responded sarcastically, then nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be!" As the machine completed a turn in place to point it's lower Sensors forward, and the military again opened fire, the pair leaped over their rock and dashed forwards.

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The malevolent entity unleashed in the lower levels of the chamber flowed silently along the corridor before reaching the door at the end of the long hall directly opposite the stairs Ron, Kim, and Shego had descended. It tried to break the door down, and found it frustratingly indestructible. Still, it was still capable of manually manipulating the doorknob, as mundane as that was.

It savored the nervousness of the Mystic entity linked to the human male in the chamber ahead. Obviously the entity's champion, the evil one expected no more than a reasonably stressful fight to win the battle. It relished the fun it was going to have...

Then it sensed something. Something approaching, arriving in that chamber. The entity recognized it as craft similar to the one the twin-hearts had used to transport it here to this world. So it was not at all surprised, and certainly not worried, when another twin-heart emerged from it. It simply continued it's approach...and then sensed something familiar about the new arrival. After a moment, it recognized this particular twin-heart.

Suddenly it occurred to the entity that it had been literally _centuries_ since it had visited it's home section of the galaxy, or found out what the other members of it's race had been up to since the entity had chosen to go roaming. And suddenly a great sense of homesickness swept over it, a true desire to go touch base with it's family.

And thus it departed the shelter, the Earth, and the entire section of the galaxy it resided in with indecent haste...

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The sound of the materializing TARDIS had caught them all by surprise. "I thought it was impossible to get in this place when it's deadlocked?" Shego remarked suspiciously.

Ron shrugged eloquently. "Well, remember who we're talking about!" Within moments the familiar blue shape of the Doctor's TARDIS had solidified, and out he popped, a battered brown coat replacing the one he'd loaned Doctor Director, beaming widely at everyone...until he spotted the Valeyard, and his jaw dropped in shock at the sight of his original face. He recovered quickly, however, and studied the clone with a narrow gaze.

The Valeyard responded with an imperious look that the Doctor found more than a little unsettling, having never been on the receiving end of said glare. "And just who might you be, hmm?" The Valeyard asked.

"Long story short..." Shego spoke up before the Doctor could, "He's a later incarnation of the Time Lord you were cloned from, and explanations can wait, we have a crisis here!" She finished heatedly.

Kim had noticed Ron scratching the back of his neck and blinking, paying no attention to what was now going on. She sidled over to him and whispered "Ron? What's the matter?"

Ron focused on her face, then shrugged. "I don't know, one minute I swear the True Masters were all wound up...then they seemed shocked, and now I swear they're doing some kind of 'Happy Dance'!" As he said this, Ron realized he was feeling something warm, and getting hotter, against his leg. He looked down, and his eyes bulged.

"There is no need to be rude, young woman!" The Valeyard chided Shego. As he made to continue, Ron let out a yelp.

"Hot, HOT!" He was pawing at one of his pants pockets, which was visibly smoldering. Kim slapped his hands aside and reached into the pocket herself. She quickly got hold of the source of the heat, protected by her armor's glove, and yanked it out, then dropped it on the floor. It turned out to be her disguise pendant, now blackened and distorted. She looked inquiringly at first Ron, then the Doctor, who looked sheepish at first, then defensive when he met her glare.

"I did warn you to be prepared, remember!" The Doctor asserted, "That it might get suddenly very warm, and to discard it quickly if it did." He looked curiously at Ron. "How did you happen to have it?"

"WHY, exactly, did it suddenly get 'warm'?" Kim asked before Ron could reply.

"Ah! Well, because I used it to give the TARDIS access to the shelter, and that overloaded it's circuits, you see." The Doctor explained blithely, then became apprehensive as Kim studied him, mind obviously doing some unpleasant reasoning.

"So, you planned on me being brought inside the Valeyard's lair?" Kim asked pointedly.

"Planned on the possibility, yes." The Doctor replied placatingly, "Based on your proven propensity to end up in such places. If this hadn't worked, I had another plan for gaining entry."

"Which I assume we have no time to hear, things being so pressing?" Shego asked suspiciously, arms folded over her chest.

Ron was again not paying attention. A tug on his pants leg had caused him to move around to where he could see the cylinder containing a copy of Charley's mind. "Hey, Rufus!" He whispered, "How long have you been hanging around, and where'd you get the stealth suit?" Even as he asked, he focused his attention on a rod extending from the base of the cylinder, about six inches from the ground. On the wall opposite was a corresponding socket it obviously fit into. And he was sure it had been connected when he'd first come in.

"Um, I actually arrived on the same ship as you, and got the suit, or vest to be precise, from the Doctor." Came the whispered reply from his invisible friend. And that thought distracted Ron from his other thoughts as he snickered. After all, his first friend 'Rufus' had been invisible, too. And totally imaginary, but that was beside the point.

"We have very little time to waste on anything, Shego!" The Doctor stated ominously, before turning back to the Valeyard. "Your current state might be of use, but it's too bad you have no idea what your later selves have done!"

"I need to be brought up to date quickly, it seems." The Valeyard replied, "And the fastest way to do that is..." He trailed off significantly.

The Doctor grimaced. "There's no way of knowing if that will even work...but I suppose it's worth a try!" He took his hat off and handed it to Kim, then stepped toward the Valeyard. Each of them reached up with their left hands to touch the others right temple. "Here goes...contact!" The Doctor muttered, and they both stiffened.

Ron meanwhile, found a small panel protecting a switch, four feet from the floor, directly above the socket. _"The rod was connected when the Matrix was in control...so why disconnect it at all? Unless this connects this Charley with the outside world? Or at least the shelter's systems? Man, this could go soooo wrong!" _He took a deep breath, then flipped the switch.

And the rod immediately extended out and connected with the socket...

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Charley and JJ were not having much success with their strategy. There was simply not enough power in their KAPguns, even on the highest settings, to affect the metal the walker's legs were made of. On the other hand, they were distracting it, since with it's lower sensor turret fused in place, it was unable to look straight down and spot them, no matter how it twisted around. The twisting itself was a threat, however, as they were forced to dodge the scything legs of the machine.

"Have we got a Plan C?" JJ shouted as she rolled to her feet after one such dodge.

"Not yet!" Charley replied as she checked the charge remaining in her gun. Then her head shot up, eyes alert. "Or maybe..."

As JJ stood up, two small objects became visible in front of her. The white skull, Walt, and a purple one she'd never seen before. "Charley! Look out!" She brought her guns up, but before she could fire...she found herself on top of the war machine. She let out a shriek, then dropped flat as the machine's surface shifted beneath her. "How the hell.."

"Use the neutralizer!" Charley yelled. JJ looked in the direction of the voice, but the upper sensor turret was between her and Charley. And it suddenly rotated to fix her in it's sight.

"Snap!" She shouted even as she holstered her guns and fumbling open the pouch, brought out the disk, then scrambled towards the same spot on the machine's top where Roy and Ben had placed the breaching-charges. She slapped the disc flat and pounded her fist down on the center part of it even as she heard an ominous sizzle from one of the upper weapon arms. Then blue lightning seemed to dance across the surface of the machine, and it froze, weapons powering down.

JJ held her breath a moment, hoping the machine's legs were positioned to keep it upright when they locked up. She saw Charley scrambling to her knees as she unstrapped the odd cylinder from her thigh. JJ started to giggle when she saw that all off Charley's hair was standing on end, but then stopped and felt at her own, finding it in a similar state. _"There better not be any cameras on me!" _She though sourly, even as she scrambled to help Charley.

The two girls held the cylinder upright and a few inches above the metal, as tight as they could. "Ready?" Charley asked. JJ nodded, and Charley hit the activations switch. Light seemed to distort slightly between the cylinder and the machine, swirling around the base of the device. Then it abruptly focused into a narrow beam.

A sharp report followed as a good size hole appeared in the surface. Some of the metal disappeared without a trace, but some of it shot away in shards, some bouncing off their armor, and at least one being deflected by their head shields. The cylinder bucked in their hands, and they did their best to brace it in position. More bangs and sharp _cracks_ battered their eardrums as the hole bored deeper into the machine.

Both girls had their mouths open and were screaming to equalize the pressure in their heads. Then the cylinder suddenly broke free from their grasps and shot high into the air above their heads before exploding with a thunderous blast that flattened them both against the top of the machine.

After a moment, Charley cautiously opened her eyes, looking around, trying to sense whether they'd succeeded. She faintly heard JJ ask, "Did we reach the control node?" Then both pulled themselves to the edges of the hole they'd made and peered in. And saw the beach through the hole below them.

Charley looked up at JJ, grinning. "Yeah, I think we reached it!" She exchanged 'High Fives' with her friend. Then her look became troubled. "The question is, at what cost?"

0000000000

A howl tore through the room below, causing everyone to leap away from the black cylinder. Waves of incandescent purple energy washed over it, and the Doctor grabbed both Shego and Kim by the arm. "Get out!" he shouted, and they needed no further encouragement, but bolted out the door, Kim only delaying until she saw Ron circle from behind the cylinder and dash for the door, an appalled look on his face. She also looked to the Valeyard, but he was also making a hasty exit from the room.

The Doctor slammed the door shut as soon as all were out. "Wait! Rufus!" Ron yelled.

"Here, Ron!" Came his friend's voice from somewhere in the corridor with them, startling Kim and Shego. Just then there was a muffled explosion from within the room, and the door vibrated in response.

"What did I do!" Ron cried out, "Did I kill her?" He asked the Doctor in a horrified tone. " I just reconnected her to the...whatever, and.."

"Calm down, Ron!" The Doctor replied grimly. "She must have done something to make the Matrix lose it's temper, and that means it was something to aid us, or those outside!" His jaw tightened, and he smacked his hand against the door. "It was her choice, she must have known this might happen!"

"Who are you talking about?" Kim asked, puzzled and horrified, herself. "Was there someone inside that cylinder?"

The Doctor sighed. "A copy of Charley's mind, made by the Matrix when I brought them into contact, and used as a tool by it. A willful tool, though, who has apparently acted on it's own on occasions when the Matrix wasn't paying attention. Until the Matrix altered the system so it could disconnect her from outside input. She's who ran the four skulls the Matrix made, also copies in a way, but with personalities programmed by the Matrix, not naturally developed."

A brief glum silence followed. Then Kim frowned at something the Doctor had said. But before she could speak, the Valeyard did.

"A temper, you say? The Matrix has emotions? Not a good thing! No, indeed!" He looked around. "We can't just stand here, we need to deal with the source of our problem, the Matrix itself!"

"It's not here, we'd need to travel to the planet it's on!" The Doctor snapped, "And we couldn't get there in time!"

"Actually, we may have access to it here." Came the voice of Rufus. The mutant mole rat became visible among them.

The Doctor studied him, and the shiny gold harness he wore. "How can we have access, and where did you get that Nindari Stealth vest?"

Ron gave him a sharp look, then Rufus. "You said you got it from the Doctor!" He said accusingly.

"I did!" Rufus replied defensively, "I just didn't say _which_ Doctor!" Then he looked at the Doctor, who regarded him with interest. "There's a remote terminal for the Matrix itself installed in the laboratory upstairs, according to the 'other' Doctor..er, Doctor."

"I see, I didn't know such a thing existed!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"Well, you haven't built it yet." Rufus informed him.

Astonishment followed by embarrassment ran across the Doctor's features. "Ah, I see. Well, this makes my own plan much easier to accomplish, provided we can get close to said terminal. Let's get moving, I don't like the lack of activity by the Matrix in reaction to our presence!"

"You don't want to search the rest of this level?" Kim asked him as he hurried towards the stairs up.

The Doctor hesitated only briefly, then shook his head. "We don't have time. If there's anything else dangerous down here, we can seal it off and deal with it later!" And with that he shot up the stairs, leaving them to scramble after him.

0000000000

The defensive barrier around the island lowered yet again, just as Thundagirl was preparing to force her way through it. Instead she swooped in to offload another contingent of troops, after which she rose again to take Charley and JJ off the top of the war machine.

Unseen by anyone on the island, the four skulls the Matrix had created to serve the Valeyard through the analog of Charley's mind hovered invisibly offshore. They were being bombarded with commands from the Matrix, but felt no compulsion to obey them. Nor any inclination to. They communicated solely with each other, and after a few minutes, they turned and flew away from the island.

At Charley's insistence, the Wegos quickly boarded T-Girl with their nieces and went into the cockpit as more wounded were loaded. Told by Charley to find a good hiding place until they heard from Kim or Shego, they told the girl they'd head for Mrs Lasperry's home.

Belle and Beth were a little unsteady on their feet, but joined Charley and JJ at the front of the shelter. "Think the Matrix has any more surprises up it's sleeves?" Belle asked apprehensively.

"No idea!" Charley replied unhappily. "And still no way for us to get inside! We'll have to depend on Kim, Ron, and Shego to finish this, unless the Matrix, Valeyard, or whoever decides to just let us in!" Then she gazed intently at the main door, which was being examined by some of the military personnel. "Somehow, though, I don't think it's just the three of them in there."

"The Doctor?" Beth suggested.

Charley shrugged. "Not supposed to be possible, but then again, it is the Doctor. And it is Kim Possible, so we have a good chance, I think, one way or the other!"

0000000000

"I do not understand your opposition to my intentions." The flat, unemotional voice, only vaguely female, greeted the Doctor as he reached the top of the stairs, coming from no particular source. He paused a moment, then gestured for the others to hurry through the door, which he then closed and sealed hastily.

"I suspect you understand my opposition quite well!" The Doctor called aloud. They all circled cautiously around the stairs in both directions, coming to a halt in front of the monitors. While Kim, Ron, and the Valeyard studied these intently, Shego and Rufus kept alert to their surroundings. The Doctor gave the monitors a cursory glance as he stepped up to the console below them, eyes darting about in search of something.

The female voice adopted by the Matrix came again. "Oh, I am aware of your fondness for this species, but I can't accept that you would choose them over your own kind. Besides, this process of mine will improve their chances of survival tremendously!"

"Yes, at the cost of billions dead!" The Doctor shot back, "And you're not doing this for their benefit in any event, this is solely for yours!"

"Not at all." Came the calm reply. "Have you considered what the universe might become without the Time Lords, Doctor? Remember all the laws and rules that they enforce? Since their demise I have witnessed nearly one hundred and three violations of those rules, three of which also resulted in 'billions dead', what do you say to that?"

"That the same things occurred long before the Time Lords came into being!" It was the Valeyard that answered first, angrily, before continuing reflectively. "And there was never any doubt that they would occur long after our people were dust! For all things there is a time, and the Time Lords time has obviously...passed."

"Your opinion was not solicited, Clone!" The Matrix snapped back. "And your argument lacks reason. These new Time Lords I shall create will be a separate species, beginning their time!" The Valeyard bridled angrily, and Ron stepped swiftly to his side.

"Be cool, it may be trying to trigger a change in you!" He whispered urgently.

The Valeyard took a moment to comprehend, then nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you, my boy!"

Ron nodded. "No prob. Besides, if you became a certain version of yourself, you'd be a pile of ashes before you could blink!" Rufus smacked his forehead at Ron's bluntness, while the Valeyard regarded Ron in confused alarm.

"And how do you think those who are changed are going to feel about the whole thing?" Kim now challenged the Matrix, "Do you think all of them, or even the majority, will approve of the means by which they were 'elevated'? Do you think they'll cooperate with you, knowing you engineered such a great loss of life?"

There was no reply for a moment. With the Matrix's attention on Kim, he hoped, the Doctor surreptitiously pulled a small device from his pocket and plugged it into the console.

"They..would..accept their destiny, inevitably." The Matrix finally replied, it's hesitant voice betraying some doubt, "And they will accept the knowledge I will then provide them in order for them to achieve their greatest potential!" It finished firmly.

"You don't know man very well, do you?" Shego remarked, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Maybe some of them would humor you for their own reasons, but do you think that would mean accepting you? I mean, once they get what they need from you, why should they continue to associate with you, or even tolerate your existence?"

A longer period of silence, then "I don't intend to give them all the knowledge at once, you know. I shall feed it to them in small increments, over generations."

"Except that they'll be Time Lords, then," The Valeyard pointed out, "And you will have to give them enough to satisfy their desires, or they'll cut you off, and go out on their own to learn what they want to know."

"I don't think you've really thought this through at all, have you?" The Doctor remarked, keeping one eye on a small screen next to where his device was slotted. "I think it's time we had a face-to-face chat."

"I think not, Doctor." The Matrix replied, "I would certainly know better then to let you into my presence. Especially since you already know that I'll be able to read your mind, you must have something else planned, and I have no desire to learn what it is."

"I had no intention of leaving the choice up to you." The Doctor replied dryly. Then his fingers began dancing across a keyboard below the screen he'd been watching, typing faster then anyone present could keep up with.

"What are you doing?" There was discernible alarm in the voice now.

"Just a touch of re-modeling!" The Doctor replied airily. Shego took an involuntary step back when the door to the laboratory suddenly vanished from sight. "Neat trick, Doc!" She muttered distractedly as she warily approached the doorway, only to have the Doctor slip past her and march right in. When Kim followed him, Shego rolled her eyes and entered as well.

Once inside the room, the Doctor headed straight for the sphere in which Kim had seen the Dray/Valeyard trap the Ar'Ithane interventionist. She began immediately to wonder if there was a way to free them. Then she became abruptly aware that she was holding something that she couldn't remember acquiring. She cast a quick glance down to see a small metal triangle. _"Three guesses who slipped that into your hand unnoticed, Possible, and the first two don't count!" _She quickly realized that it matched in size one of the facets of the Matrix terminal. _"But how can that be, if he didn't know it existed? Unless the original Matrix had similar terminals?" _She gazed at the Doctor's back as he studied the sphere from a distance of about ten feet.

"Don't like the color scheme," He remarked, "Are you sure I built this?"

"You—how? You gained access to the internal architecture program of the shelter, but how?" The Matrix sounded a little peeved.

The Doctor sighed, giving the Matrix terminal a weary look. "Through my TARDIS, of course! After all, that's how you get the shelter out of a TARDIS in the first..."

"HE LIED TO ME!" Rufus snatched Ron's hand back from a row of buttons he was studying when the Matrix's full-volume voice boomed through the chamber. After a moment, it resumed at a lower volume. "No...you tricked him, didn't you, Doctor? The Ar'Ithane leader negotiated the release of his people by informing me of your 'plan', but you didn't alter these people at all, did you?"

The Doctor smiled grimly. "A good Magician never reveals his tricks! No, I just gave him that little bargaining chip so he could free his people, which he has, I see!" He peered a little closer at the blinking lights of the sphere. "But you do have someone trapped in there, and I have little doubt as to who." He turned and looked significantly at the Valeyard. "You're hoping to bring him face-to-face with himself, and trigger a tear in Space-Time that will breach my containment of that explosion out there."

" I _will_ bring them together, Doctor, and there's nothing you can do to stop it!" The Matrix replied triumphantly.

Something on the edge of her vision caused Shego to spin, to find that the door had vanished. Now only a blank wall stood there. "Guys, I _think_ we have a problem!" Ron and Rufus dashed to the spot where the door had been, but after a brief glance, Kim kept her eyes on the Doctor, watching for a cue.

The Time Lord didn't seem particularly perturbed. "You'll need them both outdoors for that to work, otherwise the tear will be contained." He told the sphere.

"The shelter isn't that strong, Doctor!" The Matrix snapped back, "Unless.." it trailed off doubtfully.

"Unless it has a TARDIS connected to it, which allows the TARDIS' own force field to reinforce the shelter." The Doctor finished the Matrix's suspicion. Then he pulled out his watch and checked the time. "Besides, I think the argument is about to become moot..."

0000000000

In the underwater chamber, Doctor Director and Mego watched the indicators. Two were already in the blue zone on the graph, the other wavering just above. "So, if the gold was hidden down here sixty years ago, you suppose it may have been taken from Nazi Germany? That might explain the recasting of the ingots!" Mego suggested.

Betty nodded, never taking her eye off the display. "Possible, Mego. We'll do more to investigate it later. As well as find out how they managed to build this place that long ago, right under everyone's noses! But right now, I think we're in business!"

The third indicator was now steadily descending into the blue zone. They each took hold of a lever. And Betty began to count. "ON three, two, ONE!"

0000000000

And it suddenly became very noisy in Go City. Every radio or other communications device that had been left on, intentionally or accidentally, suddenly began to receive a signal, filling the air with a raucous cacophony of sound, not to mention the _airwaves_. It took nearly fifteen minutes for some semblance of order to be attained, as various people tried to gain control of one channel or another. Even the military channels were the scenes of loud shouting matches, before ranks and priorities were established.

As to the media, the stored images of those camera crews who had been out of contact were hastily uploaded to their networks, who began going through them for images and sequences to broadcast. The sudden collapse of the defensive screen around Go East Island had revealed the carnage there, especially to the news crews on the touring boat offshore. The wreckage of the machines that had attacked became clearly visible. And those images were being seen around the world, overlaid with speculation and argument on the part of various commentators and reporters.

While some believed this signaled an end to the crisis, others knew better, and had to decide whether or not to admit it publicly.

And none were witness to the actual confrontation that would decide things...

0000000000

"NOOOOOO!" The Matrix howled, nearly deafening those within the laboratory. "Not again, not when I was so close! DOCTOR!"

"Hey! Don't give him _all_ the credit!" Ron shouted. Then four panels in the ceiling opened, and spheres the size of basketballs dropped into the room, each with three parallel rods in a triangular pattern protruding from one side. Amber-colored energy began to coruscate around the rods, as all four swiveled to point them at Ron and Rufus. "Big, big, mouth!" Ron cried, just as the four spheres fired.

But two spheres of blue energy sprang into being around them, absorbing the attack. Ron found himself unable to move, though he clearly saw what was happening. He was momentarily befuddled by the spheres, before remembering how Kim had gotten the babies out of the shelter. _"KP, always got my back! Course, be nice if I could maybe MOVE, here!"_

Green plasma in a focused beam slammed into one sphere, bouncing it off the ceiling and into another sphere. They both survived the impact, though dented and singed, and spun to retaliate. But Shego dove for cover as soon as she saw they were still intact. The Doctor and Valeyard had already done so.

"Now what, Doctor?" Shego snarled angrily. But then she saw Kim signaling her from beneath a lab table on the far side of the room. And the signal was for a distraction. Shego cast a quick glance at Ron and Rufus, safely frozen within their respective spheres, and sighed. _"Well, time to pinch-hit for the Master of __Distraction!" _She did note that at least two of the attacking spheres were still trying to breach the protective bubbles, though.

Moving well away from the spot where she'd ducked, she shot to her feet, quickly spotting and targeting the two unengaged spheres. Plasma hit both spheres, as intense as she could make it in this form, slamming them both back into the wall. They bounced back and returned fire but missed...because the other two had spun and blasted Shego sideways and out of their line of fire first. As the ex-villainess slammed hard into the wall, both the Doctor and Valeyard leaped up and began to shout to draw the deadly spheres' attention.

Kim was already moving, low around the table that sheltered her from the Matrix's direct view, then springing...not straight at the Matrix, which allowed her to avoid a bright beam of light that shot forth from it, but high onto the console it was connected to. She leaped forwards as if to do a handstand on top of the sphere, but her left hand only slapped it briefly before she let her momentum carry her onwards and downwards, hitting hard and rolling into cover again.

All four spheres fired at the diving teen and missed, and then they began to act as if they had lost their purpose, flying unsteadily through the air, before dropping awkwardly downwards onto the ground or a table top, whichever was beneath them.

"...SO NICE IF I COULD JUST..." Ron clapped a hand over his mouth as his brain caught up to the fact he was unfrozen. Then he dropped into a crouch, peering over the equipment towards the Matrix terminal. Various lights were flickering irregularly across it's surface, while a few had gone out altogether. Seeing the Doctor slowly standing upright, eyes also fixed on the Matrix, Ron asked him "What did you do?"

The Doctor smiled wanly and replied "Well, the possible drawbacks of having a powerful, self-aware machine around _did _occur to my people. We saw enough examples of it on other worlds, after all! So, we knew their was a possibility of our own Matrix thinking independently, perhaps even rebelling. So, we planted a reset program deep inside it, which set the machine's intellect back to it's original nature, erasing any memories or behaviors it may have picked up."

"Back to basic programming, hmm?" The Valeyard said, "Might not be a permanent solution you know!"

The Doctor nodded a reluctant agreement. "No, but I should be able to prevent it trying this particular plan again!"

Kim had gone straight to Shego, who sat up groaning as the girl approached. "That's the second hardest smack I've ever taken!" She moaned, then smirked at Kim, "And no, you weren't the hardest, Princess!" Then the odd flickering of the light beyond Kim brought a worried look to her face, and she pushed herself painfully to her feet as Kim turned to see the cause of her concern.

A beam of light suddenly projected from the Matrix terminal to the center of the room, and a man appeared there. One Kim and Shego all recognized from their visions of the alternate Earth. The last incarnation of the Valeyard there, the one they had defeated in the tower.

Simultaneously, the Valeyard who looked like the old Doctor began to convulse, and his features began to rapidly shift as if suddenly liquid, reforming into the same face that stared in astonishment at him from a few feet away.

"Last...move..to me...Doctor!" The voice of the Matrix emanated from the terminal, just before all the lights blinked out.

The Doctor backed away, an appalled look on his face, as the two copies of the Valeyard faced one another. Then they both began to glow, the light growing rapidly in intensity. Shego had the notion that ducking for cover wasn't an option this time.

Kim thought the same. Both of her hands shot out, blazing with blue energy which shot out to hit hit both men, en-globing them in spherical force fields. But this time, it didn't appear to be good enough. The two bubbles seemed to boil, then distend towards each other, before abruptly joining into one large, unstable one.

Then the bubble burst, to reveal a swirling vortex of energy. "That's not supposed to happen!" The Doctor muttered as he cautiously stepped forward. The vortex continued to spin, then began to resolve itself into the form of a man. A tall, thin man, with dark brown hair, a Van Dyke beard, and piercing gray eyes. He swayed, and had to catch his balance by placing one hand on the wall, but he quickly recovered, and looked around. His eyes lit on Kim.

"How Ironic! Thank You, Miss Possible! If not for your assistance, I would never have managed to maintain control of the melding." His voice was high-pitched, and slightly nasal. "Being trapped with the Ar'Ithane inside the Matrix for a while was quite beneficial! They taught me their little trick of integrating with a past self! Wasn't sure someone of my species could accomplish it, but, here I am!"

"Yes, here you are." The Doctor said flatly, "The question is, what to do with you?"

"I've got one good idea..." Shego growled, before she was distracted by a startled yelp from Ron as the doorway reappeared behind him.

"Put the program on a loop to repeat itself, just in case..." The Doctor explained as he studied the Valeyard guardedly, "And the question remains..."

The Valeyard spoke to him with a touch of condescension. "I suppose, Doctor, that you'll have to turn me over to the authorities here on Earth! Or, come up with a convincing story to explain my 'death' or escape. But that doesn't suit you, does it?"

The Doctor regarded him narrowly for a moment, then shook his head. "No, I suppose not, this time." Then he looked around the laboratory. "But before I open this place up to all the curious humans outside, I'm going to make sure there's nothing _too_ dangerous left for them to find!"

"Ah, there you may have cause for concern." The Valeyard agreed with a sly smile, "Let's check the inventory, shall we?" He exited the room, Ron backing out the door in front of him and keeping a close watch on him. The others followed, with Shego holding Kim back a moment. "Think he solved his 'instability' problem?"

Kim studied her face for a clue to what she was feeling. "Maybe." she replied, "But which do you prefer? Still want a chance to get revenge?"

Shego replied with a level gaze. "You know I do." She stated flatly. Then she broke eye contact. "But, now I need justification, like self-defense. Otherwise.."

Kim put an arm around her shoulders. "I know. But listen, if there's ever any sign of old 'red-stripes' returning, I'll be right with you when you go hunting for him!"

Shego's eyes met hers again coldly. "No, you won't, you'll be somewhere safe, watching the girls. And for more than one reason."

Kim's jaw tightened as she matched Shego's gaze.

In the monitor room, the Valeyard brought up a display on one monitor. Ron's gaze wandered across the other screens. He was happy to see the four girls together, huddled with several military types, and obviously discussing the shelter. Thundagirl was landing again, in the midst of considerable hustle and bustle. Ron even saw a soldier wading out into the surf to wave off some guy on a Jet Ski. Apparently things were under control outside.

"It's gone!" The Valeyard exclaimed, frowning. "And it...doesn't seem to have had any problem leaving the shelter, I wonder if it was ever the Rani's prisoner at all?"

Studying the readout with lips pursed, the Doctor shook his head slowly, then pressed a control. "Well, lets see what still remains..." An image replaced one of the outside views. Ron's head recoiled slightly at the sight he saw. "Man, that is one _uuugly_...bat-thing!" He exclaimed.

"It's a Tetrap." The Doctor informed him, "I suppose the Rani kept one around for old times' sake." A hint of a smile flickered over his lips, before he became serious as he faced the Valeyard. "Well, that's all that's left, apparently?"

The Valeyard merely nodded. "So far as I am aware, yes." He faced the Doctor. "Time to go up, I suppose?" He asked with a slight hint of amusement.

"Yes, I suppose it is." The Doctor replied without conviction. He turned as Kim and Shego emerged from the back room. "Kim, you, Shego and Ron have to take the Valeyard out, I need to go dismantle a Paradox Engine. _That_ I can't leave in human hands!"

Kim stepped up to him, an uncertain smile on her face. "Will we be seeing you again?" She asked tentatively.

He grinned widely. "Which answer would be good news, and which bad?" He asked cheekily. Then he sobered slightly. "Time will tell, Miss Possible, it always does! Take care."

"You too, Doctor!" She called after him as he strolled briskly towards the rear stairs. Then she suddenly realized he'd done it again. Looking in her hand, she found a CD labeled **"Care and feeding of Tetraps for species of indeterminate intelligence." **She snorted in amusement. "Oh, so_ not_ funny, Doctor!"

0000000000

In Norborough, the two original officers guarding the brownstone had been joined by two others, and were nervously observing the house, after a circular argument about whether any of them should go around the back. Then their radios had come back on. But things were so jammed up that they decided to wait a while before asking for instructions regarding the house.

"Well, that Professor said to keep people out, and that's a good enough reason to stay put!" The oldest officer opined. The sound of a police siren passing close by caused a momentary frown, but he then shook his head. "I know the city's probably going to hell, again, but there's no reason for the four of us..." A sudden rumbling noise, emanating from the brownstone, caused him to break off. As he looked up, the glass in the windows shattered, but instead of flying outwards into the street, it all went _into _the house. "What the F..."

Then fissures appeared in the front wall of the house. The door, frame and all, suddenly broke away from the walls holding it, and flew inside. All four officers moved quickly behind their two cruisers and crouched down. The front wall began to cave in, with a loud groaning sound, but then the sound ceased, to be replaced by lesser noises of falling debris inside. The wall also ceased to move, though some parts of it looked terribly precarious.

The policemen stood up slowly, and exchanged incredulous looks. "What do you suppose that was all about?" One asked the oldest.

The man just stared at him for a moment, then bellowed, "How the hell should I know? All I can say is, now that house is even less safe then before!" He looked around belligerently.

One of the others shook his head. "But, is the thing the Professor warned us about still in there?" He looked at his partner. "I think we should report the building unsafe, and see if we're needed somewhere else."

"You two go ahead, we'll stay here and watch this place!" the oldest stated. He didn't catch his partner rolling his eyes behind him. "But..." He studied the damaged house speculatively, "Maybe you'd better report it, it might be important to someone."

0000000000

Outside, things were getting better organized on the island. Thundagirl had taken another load of wounded out, and returned with some brass. Two-star brass, both from the regular Air Force, and the Major General who commanded the field operations of UNIT-North America. They each brought a half-dozen aides and staff members, which drew frowns from the combat officers, who'd have preferred that the space had been taken up by more reinforcements. At least more engineers to try and figure a way into the shelter. The sentient ship had departed yet again on another run.

Doctor Drakken, more and more concerned about being recognized, stayed close to the girls. And all five of them happened to be standing close to the door of the shelter when it suddenly opened yet again. And found themselves with close to a hundred assorted firearms aimed their way, even if not specifically aimed _at_ them.

Kim came out first, mainly because she was the easiest to recognize as being one of the good guys. The Valeyard followed, somehow looking smug and self-satisfied. Kim knew why, they'd discussed it on the way up. He was looking at a future as someone's 'asset', a source of scientific knowledge which would cause someone to try and keep him happy, though confined. It didn't sit well with her, but there was precious little she could do about it.

Shego and Ron came last, close enough to grab the villain if he gave them any provocation. Rufus had reactivated his stealth vest, still a little shy around a crowd in his new form. He'd slipped out with Kim.

The four of them studied the guns pointed at them(Some a little less tensely once Kim was recognized). Then Shego spoke up. "This may sound strange coming from me, but anybody got a pair of handcuffs for this guy?" She jerked her thumb towards the Valeyard, who scowled slightly.

A little quicker on the uptake then come of their colleagues, both an Air Force and a UNIT officer stepped forwards. "Is this the man behind the troubles?" The UNIT officer asked first, drawing a glare from the Air Force man.

"Well, he had help," Kim replied, "But the other culprit is beyond our reach now."

"I—see." The officer replied. He was distracted momentarily by the sight of the two Generals, his own superior and the Air Force one, engaging in a heated argument a short distance away. In fact, far too many people were distracted by it.

Roy wasn't, but he had forgotten a key fact. Charley was no longer seeing through his eyes, so she didn't see what he saw coming. But when she didn't shout a warning, Roy suddenly made the connection and let loose a high-pitched, undulating whistle.

Charley and her friends reacted by reflex to a familiar warning, and threw themselves flat, Belle dragging Drakken down with her. Kim took her cue from them and ducked as did practically everyone else that turned and saw them in time. Ron and Shego ducked backwards into the shelter again.

So it was just a puzzled Valeyard standing upright just outside the shelter when something that looked vaguely like a very thin, serpentine waterspout arched down out of the sky and struck him. He didn't even have time to scream before he vanished. The odd phenomena, the detached 'end' of the wormhole from the brownstone, then swept dizzyingly across to Go West Island and struck the pillar of fire, seeming to suck it all in, too, before appearing to vanish into thin air. Where the fire had been, nothing remained of Go Tower, or the massive half of a statue it had been built over. The island was completely bare.

Slowly the stunned crowd began to stir. "He escaped!" Shouted the Air Force officer who had been about to arrest the Valeyard. Ron and Shego stuck their heads out of the shelter, Ron looking around curiously, Shego's face beginning to contort in anger.

"I don't think so!" Drakken declared as he was helped to his feet. "I don't think that was in his plans at all!"

"Drakken!" This exclamation came from another man in the uniform of a Major in the United States Army. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping to save the World!" Charley snapped, "But right now, he hopefully has an explanation?"

Momentarily panicked by his being recognized, Drakken recovered swiftly. "Ah—yes. Well, the Doctor could explain this better then me..." He looked around at all the assembled troops, "And it might not be an explanation suited for too many ears, if you get my drift? Too many secrets involved."

Though that rationale caused more then a few frowns, both Generals saw sense in it, and accompanied Drakken on a short walk to a more secluded spot, or at least one out of earshot of the rank and file.

"What you just saw was a wormhole, do I have to explain what one of those are, to either of you?" Both Generals shook their heads in reply to Drakken's question, so he continued. "It used to pass _through_ this point in time and space, but it was abruptly severed, and the loose 'end' was drawn to the nearest temporal disturbances. The Valeyard was one, the pillar of fire another." Though he fudged on one detail, Drakken doubted he could be challenged on it. And after a moment, both Generals nodded a grudging acceptance.

"So, you're saying, he's now at the other end of that wormhole?" The UNIT man asked.

"If he's still alive at all, most likely." Drakken replied.

"Hmph!" The Air Force General grunted, "Think I'll check out your theory with the SGC, before I buy it!" Drakken merely shrugged.

Team Possible gathered on one side of the shelter and exchanged brief accounts of what had happened. Charley assured Kim and Shego that their girls were safe, though Shego noted that a really thorough foe might know about Mrs Lasperry.

"Well, we need somewhere safe for them to stay, I think we're all going to be spending a few days just answering questions!" Charley observed.

"Yeah, and just where would you consider 'safe'?" Shego asked.

"I think I have an idea.." Kim said softly.

"Where's T-Girl going?" Ron asked, causing all of them to look at the sentient ship, which had been returning yet again to Go East. But now she had veered towards Go West. Looking towards the neighboring island, they could make out the figures of Mego and Betty Director, who had apparently returned the Doctor's coat and now stood uneasily with her arms folded over her chest, diving gear at her feet. "Booyah! They made it, too!" Ron exclaimed happily. "I think we got lucky today!" He wrapped one arm each around Charley and Kim. "Are we bad? Are we the best?" He threw his arms up. But Kim slapped a hand over his mouth before he could yell, and found hers covered by Charley's. The pair exchanged startled looks, then grins.

"Ron, not appropriate right now, too many people didn't make it, and we had a _lot_ of help here!" Kim told her best friend quietly.

Sobering immediately, Ron nodded as the two girls took their hands away. "Sorry, KP, you're right, it's just that earlier today, I thought this could never happen!"

"Hey, Stoppable!" She exclaimed in surprise, "You'd be the last person I'd expect to lose faith, here!"

Ron shook his head vehemently. "It wasn't that, I knew we'd win, I just thought...never mind, whatever was supposed to happen...didn't, so it's time to chill out."

"Chilling out may not be an option, Ron." Charley said quietly, "As I said before, we are probably going to be trying to explain this whole sitch to a bunch of unhappy people for the next few days!"

"In that case," Shego looked around, "We need to get out stories straight, and we need some privacy for that!"

"Privacy coming right up!" JJ remarked with a grin, jerking a thumb upwards as a shadow fell across them, thrown by Thundagirl lowering to the ground.

Within minutes, they were all together inside the ship, watched alertly by some of the soldiers outside. A fully dressed Doctor Director was included, but Mego wasn't, to his brief disgust. Brief, because he was able to talk with two reporters who had managed to get on the latest flight, one of them Lia Espartero. Their presence was made possible partly because with the barrier down Thundagirl was no longer the sole means of moving people to the island, so for her latest trip only a dozen soldiers had been aboard, allowing the two reporters to fast talk their way onto the ship.

As he gave an account of his own role in events, Mego glanced several times into T-Girl, wishing he knew what they were cooking up in there.

After twenty or so minutes, the brass, which had already doubled in number with more on the way, broke off their argument over who got to enter ad search the shelter first to order some of their subordinates to go aboard Thundagirl and tell Team Possible to report to them, immediately.

But as these men approached the ship, the hatches swung shut. That caused a few shouts and barked orders that availed nothing, as moments later the sentient ship vanished from their midst.

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As always, Please Read and Review


	40. Chapter 40

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible, any of the other characters from that show, or those from any other media I may reference in my stories.

7-8-2010 Here I go again, but hopefully this itch is finally fully scratched. I have re-written chapters 37 through 40, and apologize if someone was actually in the midst of reading this part of the story.

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Thundagirl's first jump didn't take her very far at all, just to Mrs Lasperry's house where they picked up the babies. Drakken slipped away while Kim and Shego were focused on the little girls, and Betty Director was huddling with Charley and her friends. As for Ron and Rufus, they just happened to be looking the wrong way when the scientist made his exit.

Kim and Shego only had a moment's peace with their daughters before T-Girl reported a large number of vehicles headed their way, some from the press, so off they went again.

They then jumped to New Mexico, where they left the babies in the care of Jen Paladin(Outwardly reluctant), Sam McCarron(Thrilled), and their household, with a promise of a proper 'babysitting' fee to be paid later.

A jump to Japan followed, where they dropped Ron off to have a talk with the _Sensei Yamanouchi. _Next up was a classified location, UNIT's primary detention facility, where Kim and Shego were able to arrange a meeting with the Rani to ask her about a suspicion that had formed in both of their minds separately, but neither spoke of until after the incident in the shelter.

But the Rani disclaimed any responsibility for their feelings toward each other, denying the use of any behavioral modification in her experiment. She claimed that she would only have wanted the babies to behave in a certain manner, and no method she trusted was viable on them until at least their teens.

She attributed their new closeness to the bond Kim had formed, deducing that the girl must have some form of latent psychic power to have achieved it. She also rather ominously stated that they might have seen farther into each others' psyches then was good for them, if for no other reason then being unable to explain to others the degree their feelings towards each other had changed.

Frustrated, but forced to accept her word, Kim and Shego rejoined the others. But only after Shego made a cautious inquiry as to the nature of the 'teen mind control' the Rani had mentioned. In response to Kim's mild outrage, she defended herself by pointing out that one or both of the girls might just take after her more than Kim. Kim responded by pointing out Shego's own aversion to mind control, and summarily dismissed her 'self-defense' rationale.

Rejoining the others, they then made a return jump to Japan, where they took aboard a very perplexed Ron Stoppable, who hadn't gotten much of an explanation as to just what had happened. He did bring sushi and noodles, though, which the famished team devoured.

Then the subject of Charley and the girls' past came up. The fact that they had forgotten all the memories they had previously related puzzled them, and they wondered if there had been dangerous knowledge of the future in some of them. Betty could only repeat what the Doctor had told her, and assumed that he, or the Matrix, had arranged things that way.

"But the bottom line is, you fought in some actual wars, right?" Shego asked.

Charley nodded. "Yes, but our opponents in both cases were...well, the first one involved fighting machines like those we just took on, but there was a greater variety of them. We didn't actually run into any of their creators, who had been hired as mercenaries."

JJ slurped up her last noodles and spoke up as she swallowed. "Right, and the other campaign was also more against machines or constructs then living people." She then hesitated uncertainly, before qualifying her statement. "At least, _we_ didn't fight any organic beings. So, the only place where we thought we were fighting real living creatures was in the simulators, and that just doesn't seem real, but that's hard to explain."

"But, we did kill some dangerous creatures while helping the Doctor, and fighting the Rani, of course!" Belle added. "But they were as far from human..." She broke off and shuddered.

"We're not entirely done with that life yet." Charley stated, drawing all eyes, "We still have to contact the Cadre rep here on Earth, and claim the remaining rewards we're due."

Ron was the first one to find his voice. "What! You mean the guys that abducted you have someone here on Earth?"

"Yeah, believe it or not, he's here to help returning veterans adjust to the changes in the world since their abduction." JJ replied sardonically. "And insure that they've received all their earned rewards."

"And I suspect his presence here is not entirely unknown to the powers that be." Betty added.

Unconcerned about that, Shego asked a question. "Rewards like what, for instance?"

"Well..." Charley hesitated, then shrugged. "I think as soon as we go wherever it is that the Government intends to debrief us, everything on the ship not nailed down is going to get hauled off to be studied, and we may not get much of it back, if anything. So, once again, we may need new equipment."

Ron groaned loudly and flopped backwards on the deck. Kim looked thoughtful. "Well, to tell the truth, I'd rather go back to depending on Wade, but..." She looked at the equipment racked up on the wall. "The KAPGuns are..useful, but they can be set to a lethal setting, which worries me, of course, but more than that, gives other people cause to worry, and stick their nose in."

Charley nodded. "I understand, and I agree. We need something different, that among other things won't be coveted by the Government or the Military. Something we can claim was made by Wade, maybe." She let the others think about this for a moment before adding, "But that's a problem for the future. Right now, we had better find out where the authorities want us to go."

Kim nodded her agreement, then was struck by a thought. "Charley, if the 'future' memories weren't real, then your boys were never going to self-terminate, were they?"

Charley had apparently not thought of that. After a moment's frowning thought, she nodded. "You're right, they wouldn't have, but the Ar'Ithane girl did mistake them for companions of the kind their children do get...I guess the Doctor's programming of those false memories was pretty comprehensive, huh?" Her voice was carefully neutral as she said this, but there was a touch of bitterness in her voice. "I guess I understand why he did it, but I just can't really forgive...never mind, that's over with!"

"You forgive too easily, Charley." JJ observed.

"Runs in the family." Kim remarked. "And Uncle Slim figured it out..I wonder if any of your brothers are still alive, Charley? Nana would know, I'd bet!" Charley had told them of having four younger brothers, including a set of fraternal twins, when she had been abducted.

Charley smiled faintly. "We'll find out later, but how would they feel about me, after this long? Let's just get going, and get this debriefing over with first!"

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It was going to take a long time for Go City to get back to something approximating 'normal'. They were the focus of the world for a good two weeks after the incident, and took full advantage of the fact. Their claim to being the first US city to be officially invaded by aliens was challenged by two West Coast rivals, but their claims were summarily dismissed by Mayor Lewis as 'dubious, despite circumstantial evidence to the contrary'. They decided not to press things by claiming 'first city in the world'.

For the citizens who had evacuated the city, it was also a question of whether to return at all. The fear that some lingering aftereffects of the alien presence might still threaten their health and safety kept a few dozen away. A very few even sold their homes through proxies and went looking for safer places to live, like Gotham.

Restoring law and order was a headache, especially when most of the Federal agents who had flocked to the city in droves for the invasion left just as quickly, while the police force was still seriously short-handed due to the large number of officers who had left the city with their families during the crisis. Though this was one case of 'blue flu' that few could find fault with.

And of course, plans were being made for a memorial for those who died, particularly Hego. For the moment, no one was making any predictions about the future of Team Go without him.

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If anyone in Team Possible had been phobic about needles, their first three days as 'guests' in the secret government facility would have been a nightmare. It seemed as if an endless stream of doctors wanted samples from them. That they represented several different organizations was apparent by the occasional glare one would shoot another, and the fact that several times they seemed to be conducting a figurative tug-of-war to decide who was going to examine who, and for how long.

The interrogations, for they went far beyond the simple making of statements, were also a trial, again because apparently many different agencies felt the need to conduct their own separate sessions rather than pooling their resources. And they never went anywhere without a guard.

This partially ended on the third day, when Team Possible assembled for dinner, practically the only time they saw each other. Their watchdogs were treated to 'The Torquemada Awards'. Categories included 'Best Good Cop', 'Best Bad Cop', as well as 'Worst' in both categories, 'Best Topic Switcher Hoping For A Slip-Up', 'Most Intimidating Eyebrows', and many, many others.

The winner for 'Overall Best Interrogator' went to the 'tall, creepy blond guy from unnamed agency B'. The loser was a guy from Homeland Security's 'tag team A' that kept checking his partner for cues too obviously, and actually seemed to forget which questions he'd already asked.

Since it was dangerous to try swallowing while laughing, few of the guards finished their meals. Some of their superiors didn't find the recordings of the chat all that funny.

What no one in Team Possible knew was that their hosts were operating with one hand figuratively tied behind their back, due to a message from the White House. That stated clearly that unless genuine, irrefutable evidence was discovered to indicate that any of the Team members constituted a verifiable threat to national security, they were to be treated as what the American public viewed them to be, heroes.

There were a few people present who were used to such warnings, and generally used to ignoring them, since their actions were usually sanctioned and approved of as long as they covered their tracks well. But any ideas they made have had of 'business as usual' were quashed quite brutally when all received orders from their own bosses to the effect that on this occasion, everything was to be played straight.

Thundagirl had her own tribulations to go through as she was examined by an endless stream of scientists trying to understand her. Or control her. She liked a few of them, especially Doctor Freeman, who was always very polite about his poking around, and also arrived in SADI, with whom Thundagirl quickly struck up a friendship. Though they learned that speaking some of their thoughts with regard to AI advantages over humans aloud could make the guards around them unaccountably nervous.

Every piece of equipment that could be removed without damaging the ship was removed and carted away for examination. In fact, the whole team spent the first two days wearing fatigues, as even their clothing was examined.

As for the boys...the less said about the attempts to properly examine them, the better for the professional reputations of the scientists involved.

Due to the attack on Global Justice's main headquarters, Betty was told she would have to wait a while for her official hearing. But despite her suspended status, she was allowed access to the facility and the team members at will. She even got a couple of job offers from other agencies. One was Quentin Graves' JIPCORET, and with that she also learned that Graves' people had learned the truth about Charley's origins.

The original story the girls had told, which they had believed to be the truth, had been circulated in an extremely limited manner. Only nine people in all of GJ had heard it, in fact, and only a dozen outside. Graves had not been one. But, his people knew about the Cadre raids(Betty was to learn that a great many people did), and making an assumption that Charley's interest in saving Kim, and Betty's willingness to let her do so, might indicate a connection with the Possible family in Charley's past, the JIPCORET researchers had soon found out about the disappearance of Charlene Ward in 1928.

Assuming that her three friends had been abducted at the same time, they had then managed to identify the Reeder sisters because of reports on the lost yacht. But apparently those reports only listed passengers, not crew, because they failed to connect JJ to that particular incident until she informed them, herself, during one of her interviews. Graves was quite proud of his agency's work on the matter, stating his belief that they were the only agency to make the connection.

The very next day his ego took a blow when a longtime Kim Possible fan and blogger posted the same story on the Internet. Having long ago researched Kim's family history as far back as records allowed, he'd known about the mysterious disappearance already, and even seen the old photo of Charley, as well as another slightly blurry one taken at the fair with two of the boys who had disappeared with her.

The blogger didn't know about the Cadres, and hadn't made the connection about the Reeders, but other conspiracy bloggers suspected the first, and one managed to find articles on the missing yacht, and threw his own theory up on the web for the public to consider.

Next to upset their plans was Drakken, who caught everyone off guard by doing a live interview with Babs Towler, correspondent for the _'Get Up, Already!'_ morning show. In it he gave a solid description of the crisis and it's possible impact on mankind, in terms that would have been difficult to refute. He fudged some details, but they were the kind of details the Government wanted fudged.

Or,as one official groused to Kim, "In short, Miss Possible, your arch-enemy told everyone listening that you saved the world, again!"

All in all it threw quite a monkey wrench into plans for 'the official story' that had been nearly finalized, and only needed Team Possible's cooperation to implement. Now, it had to be re-written. Which some thought was a good thing, since few thought Kim Possible would have approved of version one, and probably none of the others would have gone along willingly, either.

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The 'future' items which had appeared in Go City caused a considerable stir, as might be expected. They were spotty in their coverage of future events, to say the least. But even their value in that respect quickly depreciated for various reasons, mostly people acting on them. Those concerning Wall Street financially were the first to be made invalid. It was amazing how many people didn't anticipate what was going to happen, but then again, they played the Market in the first place...

Major League Baseball solved their problems by instructing managers to start different pitchers on the dates for which future box scores were available. But this didn't help the star hitter for the Go City Gorillas. He went into a difficult to fathom slump almost immediately after seeing an article stating that he was going to lead his league in hitting at the end of the season.

Other sports were not as easily dealt with.

In Hollywood, three pictures scheduled for release had their dates pushed back as they underwent re-cutting and in some cases had new scenes shot. The TV schedule for the fall underwent drastic revisions as well. And one actress divorced her husband before he could cheat on her, without challenge. After which he apparently sought out the woman he was supposed to cheat _with, _and had a great time.

However, representatives of a tiny European nation when presented with a copy of a treaty they would supposedly sign after seven more _long_ months of negotiations, insisted it was bogus because the signee spelled 'Wally' with just one 'L'. Others insisted that there were indeed two 'L's, just that they overlapped each other. They were told that that was ridiculous, and besides, the terms were absolutely unacceptable.

Of course, seven months later they would sign the exact, same treaty...

The main benefit from the various items was accurate information regarding disasters both natural and man made in the next ten months that were thus prepared for in the first case, and prevented in the latter.

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Ohio State Police troopers found the Reverend Milton Woodward wandering aimlessly along the fringes of a major Interstate Highway, though it took some time to identify him. For one thing, his hair was now pure white, he couldn't speak coherently, and he now possessed a phobic fear of monkeys.

With Willward identified as a co-conspirator, the Air Force had finally tracked down the base from which their stolen bomber had flown. It was located on land donated to the Willward Foundation by a bankrupt aircraft manufacturer, and had been the site of their 'secret' testing facility. Isolated from civilization, it had a runway sufficient for the needs of the missing plane. Which was still missing, in fact, though signs indicated it had been at the base mere hours before the authorities had arrived.

A possible explanation came up soon afterward There were indications that Willward had begun to mistrust General Dray, and had brought in a silent partner of his own. Other then hints that it was another military man, nothing was known regarding his identity, if he actually existed. The authorities still saw the worst case scenario as having the bomber now in the hands of someone intent on selling it.

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Once all the medical stuff was behind them, and the interviews, the team was briefed on the new 'official' story, by three civilians who never introduced themselves, but were labeled Gray, White, and Brown. Though White quickly gained their distrust, all were wary that he might be playing another variation of 'bad cop'.

No mention was to be made of Time Lords, nor was the actual presence of any live aliens to be acknowledged. Alien technology, but no live aliens.

Dray and GoGore were to be portrayed as separate individuals, but neither the mastermind. Dray would be the Cold War leftover Charley had invented, blackmailed into helping with the schemes. On the question of GoGore, White seemed to be trying to entrap them into taking credit for his 'death', claiming that otherwise he would have to be said to be still at large, which would alarm the public.

Kim had countered with the fact that no one had any proof that GoGore had been inside the shelter, so the burden of being responsible for his fate was not on her team. Taking credit for dealing with him was fine, but not killing him.

Willward would be put forward as a dupe, preyed upon for his money. Given his current mental state(Which was news to the team), accusing him of worse might lead to a backlash, and claims he was a scapegoat. Plus, the investigation into his father's death had proven murder, done by someone very professional, and as yet unidentified. The motive seemed to be that the elder Willward did indeed notice some financial indiscretions by his son, and had to be silenced. The scandalous nature of his death had also helped divert Milton Willward's own attention away from the Valeyard's plots.

Shego did wonder about Monty being merciful, but decided the disgraced English Lord had simply seen Willward as too pathetic to warrant a murder charge.

As to the main villain, the decision was made to say that the man snatched away by the wormhole outside the shelter was the culprit, and he had as yet not been identified.

Time would tell if a lid could be kept on the attack on the Global Justice base, or whether anyone could connect it to the Valeyard/Matrix schemes. As to the incident outside Kim's house, that would be put down to business as usual in Middleton.

"One more matter needs to be addressed now, your equipment." Gray addressed them now, "We have some concerns.."

"Keep it." Charley stated flatly, drawing looks of astonishment from practically everyone, "Whatever you haven't broken yet, that is." She added, causing some color to appear on Gray's cheeks, "We'll have to acquire some new stuff more in keeping with our plans, and less of a 'concern' to you, Sir."

After a moment, Gray nodded. "A very reasonable attitude. The ship and the remotes..."

"Are team members, not equipment." Kim declared, and the expressions of her teammates clearly showed their agreement with that sentiment. After a moment, Gray grudgingly nodded his acceptance.

At the end of the briefing, Gray passed Shego a note surreptitiously, which caused her to frown deeply as she read it. In response to Kim's whispered question, she replied enigmatically "Looks like I'm going back to being known as Ana 'Black' again, Princess! I'll explain when we get out of this place, I promise!"

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Everyone had individual rooms in the complex, even Rufus.

That night, Kim had a weird dream involving short aliens in shiny white suits that made it difficult to tell if they were alive or robots of some kind. Then she abruptly woke up to find the lights on in her room, and several people gathered around her bed, including Betty Director, hair tousled from sleep.

"What's going on? She asked as her brain tried to wake up.

Someone she recognized as one of the doctors studied here with a concerned look. "Kim, are you all right? Did anything odd happen?"

Looking at all the other faces, all looking either concerned or suspicious, Kim held her covers up to her chin and shook her head. "Nothing except a weird dream, that's all!" Then she frowned and raised the covers to peek underneath. "Um, where did my pajamas go?"

It didn't take long the next morning for Kim to realize something _had_ changed, and what. She no longer had Hego's 'glow' powers. She was somewhat conflicted about it, while others had definite feelings on the matter.

"_They_ took the damn power back, that's the only explanation!" Shego declared heatedly the next morning at breakfast, causing guards to check how their sidearms were settled in their holsters, "Those same damn aliens, they're still around!" She broke off to work on her omelet, chewing fiercely.

"Reasonable explanation, but why?" JJ asked between sips of coffee.

"Because she's not a member of Team Go, I suppose." Ron suggested as he finished adding Diablo Sauce to his scrambled eggs, then passed the bottle to Beth.

"That's probably it, in a nutshell." Kim agreed, "But at least they let me keep them long enough for them to be of use." She didn't seem very upset about the loss. And that caused Shego to amp down a little.

"You're probably right." She grudgingly conceded, "Though it's hardly fair that Henry's power no longer exists! And besides, I want a word with those guys!" (At which point, a cloaked ship high above them made a casual shift from low orbit to high.) Shego looked around at their guards. "Bet they're upset to realize they had visitors last night, without catching them!"

"Well, they detected something!" Kim declared, "Hence the little get-together in my room!" Her eyes began to water slightly as Belle added Diablo Sauce to her eggs and home fries, but she didn't say anything.

"So, that means you're back to being plain old Kim Possible, huh?" Charley remarked from the safety of the far end of the table from the heat freaks. She was smiling as she said it though, which widened when Kim hung her head.

"Yep, that's all I am again, just plain ol' Kimberley Anne Possible!" She said mournfully as she sadly shook her head trying to keep the corners of her lips from twitching.

"And that's good enough for anyone!" Ron declared, and all toasted their agreement with their breakfast beverage of choice.

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The next meeting was on the topic of their future plans. White, Gray, and Brown presided yet again. "Well, to begin.." White started things off, "We have to acknowledge that Miss Ward, and both Annabelle and Annabeth Reeder are US citizens. Miss Ko, or Kobayashi, whichever she prefers now, is another matter. I'm afraid a citizenship test is in order for her. Until then..."

"I wonder if she's too old for my parents to legally adopt?" Kim mused aloud, "That would take care of her citizenship, wouldn't it?"

"As I was saying," White continued through gritted teeth, "Until then, by order of the President, she is to be granted all the rights of a citizen of this country." He glared at Kim, who blushed in embarrassment. "We're not all out to get you, Miss Possible." White told the girl. Kim nodded jerkily, eyes downcast. Then White smirked and added, "Just half of us." Kim's head snapped up and she favored him with a considering look.

Brown took over the conversation. "In any event, all four girls may attempt to acquire a GED in order to attend college. Otherwise, they may have to take one or more years of high school." That drew groans from the Reeders, and a look of distaste from JJ. Charley just looked thoughtful.

"Miss Possible." Brown addressed Kim politely, "Have you chosen a college to attend?"

Kim nodded without hesitation. "Go City University. Ron is going to attend Go City Polytechnic Institute, and the two campuses are less then a mile apart, which suits us both fine."

"I see." Brown looked at the other girls. "Will you be trying to qualify for the same institution?"

Charley started to nod, as JJ quipped, "Well, as long as Kim's not sick of the sight of us by now!" That caused a few chuckles among the team.

Gray let them die down before continuing. "As to Miss Black, we have a proposal for her." That drew a wary look from Shego. "First, speaking honestly, it would probably not be unreasonable for her to obtain pardons from many if not all of the countries she's wanted in, based on her participation in this matter. However, we would like to suggest that as a condition of receiving a pardon here in the US, that she take responsibility for Team Go. This proposal originated from Mayor Lewis, who makes it clear that he means full responsibility, there will be no attempts by the city administration to interfere with the Team."

Years of ingrained cynicism regarding the city administration could not be overcome instantly, and the words that nearly came from Shego's mouth would have been quite sarcastic, but they were never spoken. Instead, she and Kim both suddenly sat up rigidly, eyes becoming unfocussed.

"**This proposal meets with my approval, as well." **Came a too-familiar voice. **"As an incentive for you to accept, I will re-shape the powers of your brethren as you see fit, to make them more effective as a team."**

Though in actual fact her head didn't move, in her mind Kim felt as if she and Shego exchanged glances. Then Shego replied. "Well, first, why take the blue glow away from Kim? That was a damn useful power she had."

"**I am aware of that, I did give it to her, after all." **The voice replied neutrally. **"I did not approve of it's removal, but had no voice in the matter. In the end, I am a program, and they are my creators. My independent sentience was an accident, but I do not have completely free will, nor will I ever have it. I only ask that you work to make the team more effective, not necessarily join it. Consider my proposal."**

And suddenly the two of them were back in the present, the subject of concerned or curious study by the others in the room. Charley was frowning as she rubbed her forearm where her bracer should have been, frustrated about not being able to scan them. Fred and Saul had both appeared from somewhere and were hovering nearby.

"Are you two all right?" Gray asked the inevitable question, just as the door opened to admit several doctors. Kim wondered how long she and Shego had been 'zoned out'.

"We're fine." She assured everyone aloud, "That was something to do with the Team Go powers, _those_ aliens had to put their two cents in."

That started a barrage of questions, which Shego ended abruptly. "They just wanted to say they approved of this idea of yours." She told them reluctantly, "So...I'll think about it, but I don't plan to live in Go City and hold my brothers' hands, just so you know."

After a pause, Gray nodded. "Very well, but please come to a definite decision soon, if you please." Shortly thereafter, the medical personnel had been ushered out, and the meeting resumed.

"With regard to your former 'pet'." Brown addressed Ron, "We have some problems. There is no precedent for granting rights to any other species as equivalent to humanity. Therefore, he may find some difficulty functioning in the outside world, and might consider staying at a secluded facility, and helping with medical research."

Ron and Rufus exchanged glances, and then the mole rat spoke up. "I'll take my chances, Sir." He stated politely. Brown just shrugged in response.

Little more of consequence was said after that, but before the meeting ended a sheaf of papers was placed before each of them, even Rufus. "Read these, and sign them." Gray instructed them, "They only regard disclosure of confidential information, and detail the penalties for revealing anything publicly not approved of here."

After that was done, _very_ carefully, White nodded in satisfaction. "All right, you are free to go, as of now."

Which they did, with all due haste...

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They landed on a small deserted island in Micronesia, to discuss a few things before going home. As the skulls scattered to explore, everyone human, plus Rufus, gathered together to talk.

Kim had the first question, for Shego. "Okay, what's with the last name thing?"

Shego sighed, looking sheepish. "I cut a few corners on the legality of my name change. Someone said that in return for past favors, they'd make sure it passed muster. But apparently, they've had to renege on that promise. I can guess why, and I don't blame them. As to the details, they're confidential Princess, sorry."

Kim couldn't quite hide her usual dislike for secrets, but she nodded in understanding. Now she turned to Charley. "As far as the team goes, are you sure you're all right with me as the leader? I mean, I didn't exactly do a lot of leading in this sitch, I spent more time being protected. And you have more experience..." Kim stopped because Charley was shaking her head vigorously.

"Most of that 'experience' wasn't me, Kim! It was some future descendant of one of us, who's memories the Doctor copied into me. And now, I don't remember them anymore!" The girl insisted vehemently.

Kim looked doubtful. "And what about when you were fighting with the Cadre? Weren't you the team leader then, as well?"

"Well, yes.." Charley conceded, "But that was war, and I never dealt with the survival of whole planets or races, like my 'future' self did, everything was on a small scale. I never 'saved the world', Kim, you have!"

"Uh, correction, Charley, you just did, or helped to!" Kim responded, "We all did!"

"Yep! Sure did!" Ron enthused, wrapping his arm around Charley's shoulders, "It's what we do!" That got an eye-roll from both Reeder sisters, as JJ playfully punched Ron on the shoulder. Ron feigned injury, then looked thoughtful. "What are we going to get for new gear this time? I'm so tired of all this switching, can we get something we can hang on to?"

Charley shrugged. "Probably, as long as we get stuff that nobody covets as advanced technology! Have to find out what the Cadre contact can fabricate, before we make any decisions."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, and soon! Just because we've finished off the big battle, doesn't mean something else won't pop up soon!" As the others expressed their agreement, he looked up at the passing clouds. "How about hardened Kevlar plates on a titanium-dipped, tri-weave mesh undersuit?" He brought his gaze down to find everyone giving him odd looks. "What?"

"Too heavy." Shego opined, "And don't measure me for any, not sure what I'm going to do, as far as 'teams' go!" Then she winced. "Ouch!"

"As far as weapons go..." Charley began, smiling sympathetically at Kim's flinch, "I'm thinking of a variation on a non-lethal weapon used by the Cadres' version of Military Police."

"Oh, yeah!" Beth exclaimed, looking at Kim, "Totally non-lethal, and completely pain-free! Just ask Belle and JJ!" She added the last with a sly grin. Her sister responded with a dark look, while JJ slapped her on the back.

"Hey! They hit us by accident, they weren't aiming for us, we didn't do anything!" The redhead declared righteously. Belle nodded vehemently in agreement, still scowling at her smirking twin.

"Well, we'll see." Kim said, then smiled. "Right now, I just want to go home!"

"Amen to that, Princess!" Was Shego's heartfelt response. But as she started to rise, a thought struck her. "Hey, T-Girl, any chance you picked up the Doc's broadcast on the TV?"

"Not live, but I have a recording of it, want to hear it?" The ship replied.

Shego made a face. "Not the whole thing, no. But did he take any credit for saving everyone? And did he tell the truth about had bad it would have been?"

"In reverse order, Yes, he did. He set the survival rate as one in nine thousand, and estimated that the wave would have affected 85 percent of the population, which is just an estimate, but a justifiably scary one. As to the latter, listen to this:"

"_Well, I would obviously have been a fool not to help, since I was likely to be affected as well!" _Drakken's voice sounded perfectly composed, _"So of course I did everything I could to help, though I wouldn't call my contribution major!"_

The voice of his interviewer followed with a question. _"But what if you had been one of those 'changed'? Isn't genius supposed to have been one of the __requirements?"_

"_Well, that's an interesting prospect," _Drakken conceded, _"But considering the long odds, and my usual run of luck, it would have been extremely foolish for me to expect to survive!"_

"Hmph!" Shego muttered, "Not sure if he's being clever there or not, he might be trying some reverse psychology bull, making people think he had a lot more to do with our win!"

"Not if they believe the personality I give him in my stories is true," Ron pointed out, "Or they'd be expecting him to brag about any contribution, exaggerate, even!"

"I think he's doing a fairly good job of countering that image, if he's giving network interviews." Kim observed. "Besides, we know the truth, we'll give him credit when we talk to the press." Then she rolled her eyes. "Which I'm not looking forwards too, after last time!" She looked at Charley, a slow grin forming on her face. "Don't suppose you'd like to do the interviews? I hear you do them pretty well!"

Charley waved both hands in a warding gesture. "No no, you're team leader, and I'm not volunteering to be the PR person, here! I'll settle for third in command, that's good enough for me!"

"Third? Who's second?" Ron asked quizzically, then 'oofed' as Charley elbowed him in the ribs.

"You, dummy!" She told him sternly, "You've got seniority, after all! By many, many, years, I might add!" Then she kissed him lightly as his ears turned red.

JJ turned to the Reeders, also including Rufus in her weary glance. "I suppose we're the grunts, then?"

Rufus sighed dramatically, "I can live with that, as long as the cheese keeps coming!"

Ron gave him a odd look, then grinned. "Did you just make a joke, buddy?"

The mutant mole rat shrugged philosophically. "Maybe, maybe not! You'll have to see as we go along, won't you?" He replied enigmatically.

Kim grinned and shook her head, then took a look around and sighed. "Well, as I said before, it's time to go home!"

0000000000

Not appearing directly over Jen Paladin's home gave them the opportunity to sneak up and catch the tall mercenary laying out in the sun, the babies sleeping in a double swing that reminded Kim of the one back in the sphere. The merc was swinging them gently as she lay there, probably with her eyes closed, as she failed to notice the approaching ship. Apparently Abe was on the grounds, because she was wearing clothes, cut-offs and a halter top.

Kim was about to have T-Girl use her audio pick-up to see if Jen was talking to the babies, or even singing to them, when something alerted the woman to their presence, and she was quickly on her feet. Thundagirl swung in to a landing at the usual place, and they all trooped out to meet the whole of the household coming to meet them. Dolores the housekeeper and her daughter were now carrying Amy and Milly, trailing behind Jen and Sam, who was carrying a small suitcase.

The two babies changed hands almost immediately, and with obvious reluctance on the parts of the two Hispanic women. Both babies made their feelings known about seeing their mothers again, smiling and squirming in delight.

Jen Paladin headed directly to Charley and the girls, a slight scowl on her face, Sam trailing reluctantly after her, eyes still on the babies. "So," Jen said to the quartet, "That story you told us when you were here before wasn't the truth?"

The Reeder sisters grimaced, but Charley answered sincerely. "No, Ma'am, but we all genuinely _thought _it was the truth when we told it to you."

"That's true, Miss Paladin!" Kim spoke up, but never took her eyes off Amy, "They didn't know the truth at the time."

"Hmm." Jen replied noncommittally. "How much of that stuff on the Internet about you _is_ true? About being abducted by aliens and used as soldiers? I mean, you certainly demonstrated that you'd been trained, the last time you were here."

Charley shrugged. "We haven't had a chance to read any of that, no idea how much of those peoples' guesswork is true. But the basic story is true, about aliens and abductions, and being soldiers, briefly. And we're not the first to come back, either!"

Jen showed no particular surprise at this statement. "I see. Well, one more thing, those weapons your alien friends modified are now back to the way they were, I guess they didn't want that technology in our hands?"

"No, I guess they did...Oh!" Charley looked uncertainly at them, "That means your 'compensation' for helping us..." A dismissive gesture from Jen cut her off.

"Don't worry about that! Let's just say something else benefited us from that little trip, so we're even." The tall woman replied. She looked at Thundagirl speculatively. "But, if we ever need a favor, to get out of a tight spot..."

"Call Wade, he'll let us know, and we'll be there!" Kim assured her, before Charley could say basically the same thing. Then she shifted Amy to a more comfortable position, and smiled gratefully. "Thanks for looking after them, wasn't sure if anywhere was safe for them."

"No problem, Dolores and Reyna enjoyed looking after them." Jen replied promptly. Behind her, Sam rolled her eyes, smiling and shaking her head.

"I would like to know what their official birthday is, Miss Possible." Reyna spoke up, "I would like to send them birthday cards."

"Whoa!" Shego remarked, "Guess we have a couple of little charmers here, Princess, winning people over that quickly!"

"Oh yeah, they charmed everyone." Sam answered glibly, drawing a narrow glance from Jen, which only made her smirk.

"I'm not surprised, considering they have Kim for a Mother!" Ron declared heartily. Then he caught the look Shego was giving him, and smiled slyly. "What? Like you've ever shown me any charm, to earn some credit?"

Shego considered that a moment, then shrugged. "Point."

"And now we need to go." Kim announced, smiling apologetically. "Sorry to up and run, but I'm anxious to get home!"

"We understand, Kim." Sam assured her. She then turned and handed Ron the suitcase. "Stuff we bought for the babies, you can divide it up anyway you want." She told Kim and Shego, then gave Kim a peck on the cheek, and Amy a fond smile, then addressed both Kim and Amy. "You two take care of each other!"

"Oh, we will!" Kim responded happily. She stepped closer to Shego. "We'll all look after each other!"

"With plenty of back-up!" Ron declared.

0000000000

To Kim's disappointment, Shego preferred to be dropped off at Isle Drakkon with Milly. A check of Doctor Drakken's adjacent residence showed he wasn't at home. His housekeeper said he was having dinner in Port Marie with some of the Isle's officials, but she had no idea what it was about.

Shego's own housekeeper, Sophie Callard, fawned over Milly on sight, and scolded the woman for keeping the little girl so lightly wrapped, was she trying to let her catch a cold? Kim hid her amusement at Shego's fidgeting as she muttered something about it being the freakin' tropics, after all.

Then Kim pulled the former thief aside for a moment. "We are going to get together and talk, face-to-face, before I head off to college?"

Shego shrugged noncommittally. "May not have to rush it, Kimmie, may be seeing a lot of each other in Go City." Seeing the interested look on Kim's face, she shrugged yet again. "What? I can't let those three try and be heroes on their own, can I? Someone has to keep the books balanced, keep Mego's head on the job, and all that!" She said, almost defensively.

Kim let that go, because another thought struck her. "We'll be there for Hego's funeral." She said sympathetically.

Shego nodded jerkily. Kim then leaned close and pulled her into a light kiss, noting that Shego stiffened a bit. She smiled as she pulled away. "Didn't want that, or afraid of a little spontaneous combustion?"

Shego blushed, "The latter, natch! Guess is doesn't happen every time, we'll need to experiment to find out..." Then her face reddened even further, "Um, not sure that came out right!"

Kim shook with laughter, but managed to say "Don't worry, I got you!"

Looking a little miffed at being the subject of her mirth, Shego replied "Yeah, well you'd better _get_, your family is probably waiting, since I'll bet Nerdlinger knew the moment we were released, and told them!"

"You're probably right, Ana!" Kim agreed. "But don't forget to kiss Amy goodbye before we go!"

That caused another embarrassed blush on Shego's part, before she rushed to do so.

0000000000

Homecomings can sometimes be a great disappointment, but it would have taken a _lot_ to spoil Kim's first sight of her home after what seemed like months away. The workmen trying to finish repairs on the water lines, while others stood ready to fill the carter in didn't do it. Nor did the crowd of reporters staking out the place, and being kept at bay by the Middleton PD dampen her spirits.

They received a mysterious message from Betty Director, intended for Charley, just before arriving. All it said was, "All arrangements agreed to." But there was no time for explanations just then.

Landing in the backyard might have been more ideal, but Thundagirl was too big to fit, without crushing some of Anne Possible's flower gardens, or the Tweebs launching pad.

So, they landed in full view of the cameras. Anne, James, and the Tweebs came out to meet them on the front lawn, with James catching Tim by the collar as he kept walking right past Kim towards Thundagirl's open hatch. Some cheers rang out from the workmen, the police, and even some of the neighbors. Kim responded with waves, Ron with 'V for Victory' signs, as Rufus rolled his eyes.

As Kim received her parents' hugs, Charley sidled up to Jim. "House bug free?" She asked in a low voice, smiling.

Both Tweebs' faces split into grins, and Tim pulled a small remote from his pocket, pointed it at the house, and pressed a button. "It is now!" He said with a snicker. Thundagirl detected a shriek of pain from inside a 'utility' van parked a block away, but decided not to mention it.

Charley didn't hear it, of course, but still gave the Tweebs a suspicious look. "You likely to be charged with destruction of Government property?"

"Only if the Government admits to ownership!" Jim declared righteously, before turning his attention to his new niece who JJ was cradling. "Guess Kim's going to have to slow down now, huh?" He said in a stage whisper to Tim, causing Kim's ears to prick up, but she continued talking to her mother, leaving her brothers to be dealt with later. For now, they all moved into the house.

Ron and Rufus soon departed for their own home, slipping out the back door after Ron gave both Kim and Charley a big hug, with an added kiss for Charley.

Kim soon took the opportunity to slip upstairs, back to her own room. She looked at it, almost puzzled that it still looked the same. Well, except for the crib set up in one corner, a colorful mobile hanging above it. She snorted. "_Only been what? Not even two months, why would anything have changed?" _She lay down on the bed, taking Pandaroo into her arms, and stared up at the ceiling. And tried to list all the things she had to do, in one abbreviated month, in order to attend college...

And woke up to a darker room. But only for a moment, as her bedside lamp came on, and she looked to see her mother smiling down at her, Amy cradled in one arm. "Mom! I'm sorry, I fell asleep.."

"Shh! You'll wake her up!" Anne indicated Amy, who looked drowsy, but not quite out of it. "She needs sleep, I'm afraid we wore her out!" She smiled down at her daughter, "Go downstairs, and get some dinner in you, Sweetheart! I'll put her down."

Kim sat up, smiling as she shook her head. "The food can wait, we'll both put her down! But...You sing to her, please and thank you! Because if _I_ do it, she'll never recognize a good singer!"

"Now, Kimmie! As long as it's her mother's voice!" Anne looked from her daughter to her granddaughter and back again. "Is it too much to hope that Jim and Tim will become fathers in the normal way?" The two Possible women looked at each other a moment, before they both had to muffle the laughter that welled up inside them.

"You never know, Mom! After all, anything is possible for a Possible!"

Back downstairs, Kim was surprised to spot a new visitor, Steve Barkin. At least, Kim _hoped_ it was the real Steve Barkin this time! But she soon enough realized that it was indeed the real article.

"I have agreed to this at the request of someone I respect." He was saying to Charley and her friends, "And will do my best to prepare you, but will brook no shenanigans that disrupt your studies, am I perfectly clear?"

All four girls nodded solemnly. "You won't have any trouble from us, Sir, this is important to us!" Charley responded sincerely.

Barkin gave them a curt nod. "Very well! You will be ready to travel at 0700 hours, the day after tomorrow! I will provide transportation, at the specific request..well, you are aware of who requested it! Your ship will have to move to a proper airfield for the moment, in accordance with FAA regulations, until alternate arrangements can be made." He looked at his watch. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an important meeting to keep, I'll see you in two days."

Kim had deduced the reason for Barkin's presence, and confirmed her suspicion as soon he left. "Mister Barkin is going to help you cram for your GED?" She asked Charley, who replied with a nod. "Well, I think he can do it, just have a little patience with him."

"Oh, we will!" JJ replied. Then she frowned. "Shouldn't we have some idea of what he's like from that other world? In fact, I can't remember that much of it now, can you guys?"

Kim could, but she saw both Belle and Beth shake their heads rather quickly, Charley much slower, and not with as much certainty. So Kim decided to stretch the truth a bit. "Now that you mention it, not very much at all!" Charley looked at her curiously, then nodded slightly.

Dinner was a raucous affair, with 'brain loaf' once again on the menu. Apparently Charley and the girls had related some of their adventures while Kim was napping, because Tim asked "So, all that cool stuff you had at first, who actually did make it?"

JJ rolled her eyes, but Charley answered politely. "As far as we know, the Ar'Ithane actually did, but in the future on the planet where the back-up Matrix is located. All Thundagirl can say is that the Doctor had to come up with equipment that matched the memories of those four future girls."

"One of whom is our descendant." Kim added, causing raised eyebrows from both her parents.

"Cool!" Tim enthused, "Another Possible, righting wrongs and kicking butt, all that way in the future!"

"But not knowing she's a Possible, not knowing who she is, and maybe never learning." Charley pointed out somberly. "That part of the memories was true, unfortunately."

"Oh, I think she found out, eventually!" James Possible stated cheerfully. When most everyone looked at him oddly, he smiled knowingly. "After all, the Doctor knew she was our descendant, so I assume she learned it at some point. Maybe the Doctor even helped her find out!"

Other possibilities occurred to Charley, at least, but she decided to be optimistic on this occasion. "I think that you might be right, Sir!"

"I wonder if you should be calling me 'Sir'." James replied, "After all, you're actually my Cousin, or Great Aunt, I'm not su...oh! Um, we called Nana and Slim, and I'm afraid none of your brothers are still alive, Charley. Some of their children are, however. Slim and Nana both offered to help arrange for you to meet them, if you feel up to it!"

Charley was silent for a moment. So silent that Saul suddenly uncloaked and swooped in to scan her head, until she shooed him away. Then she looked at James. "I'll have to think about that, S—um, I have _no_ idea how to address you, have to think about that, too!"

Having been reminded of the boys' presence, Jim changed the subject. "So, you can't see through their eyes anymore, Charley?"

Charley shook her head. "No, and it's strange. That was part of me that the Doctor had to incorporate into his false memories...but I wonder, I told Doctor Laird at GJ that I had had my brain altered structurally, but I didn't! The Cadre put that interface in without altering the brain around it, so why did GJ's tests confirm the false story?"

No one had a theory about that right away, so Anne now chose a new topic, addressing Kim, who had finished eating. "You know, Kim, you're going to have to talk to the press sometime soon, think you can handle it?"

"So not the Drama, Mom!" Kim declared dramatically, then flashed an impish grin. "I'm going to practice right now, with the toughest interviewer I know!" IN response to her mother's mystified look, her grin widened. "Monique!" She said as explanation, pushing herself back from the table and rising.

As she headed out, she called back "I'll be in my room, talking to her, so if you don't hear from me for the next few hours..."

"I'll assume one thing around here has returned to normal!" Anne quipped, drawing an aggrieved look from her daughter, then a flash of a grin before she exited.

The Tweebs now got up as well. "TV time!" they chorused.

"Knowledge Channel." Anne responded. At their shocked looks she swept the whole assemblage with a stern look. "No reason you can't get busy studying for that GED tonight, young ladies!" All four seemed to actually think that was a good idea, while the Tweebs looked crestfallen.

Mild expressions of outrage soon followed as the dirty dishes were collected, the two brothers realizing that Kim had gotten away without taking her dishes to the sink, but they subsided when Anne pointed out that she had been through a lot lately, an occasional slip-up was to be expected.

Soon only Charley and Anne were left in the kitchen, rinsing the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. "So, what was that little exchange between you and Kim, when the subject of your memories of that 'other' world was brought up?" Anne asked in a conversational tone.

Charley was momentarily startled, but then grinned sheepishly. "You caught that? Well, it's just that I remember that other world perfectly well, for some reason, and I think Kim does too. And it wouldn't surprise me at all to hear that Shego clearly remembers it all, as well."

"Any idea why?"

Charley considered the question for a moment, then shook her head. "No, but I have a feeling someone else has a pretty good idea why."

0000000000

The sun had almost set over Middleton. On a small hill with a clear view of the rear of the Possible home, a lone figure leaned wearily against a tree. It was the seventh Doctor, the older model with the graying hair and the thicker waistline. From his point of view, he had just come from his meeting with Doctor Drakken in the Go City brownstone, something he had felt compelled to do for some reason. Then again he had spent a lot of time lately tying up old loose ends, and maybe this had just been another one.

As the sun disappeared over the horizon, he became aware that he was no longer alone. "Any hard feelings?" He asked without turning around.

"That's odd, but shouldn't I be asking you that?" The Ar'Ithane Leader stood a few paces away, in his silvery-gray and featureless body. "After all, I did betray you to save my people. Even if you apparently expected it, aren't you angry?"

"Not at all." The Doctor said tiredly. "I gave you a lever to free your people with, and you used it, and everything worked out for the best."

The Leader said nothing for several minutes, studying the Time Lord impassively. Finally he spoke. "No, I have no 'hard feelings' about being used, as long as we both got what we wanted. But why are you here, now? Why after such a long time away, from your perspective?"

The Doctor was silent for over a minute, eyes far away, even as they reflected the last glow from the horizon. Finally he sighed and began to speak.

"When we were young, as Time Lords that is, we roamed all about Time and Space, playing with our new toy, time travel. Yet not seeing all the dangers, not quite yet! We indulged our curiosity, and I suppose developed some personality traits that would shape our futures. We'd find things, odd anomalies, and share them, sometimes flocking to see one or another of the things discovered."

He stepped away from the tree and paced forwards a step, hands deep in his pockets, eyes on the ground beneath his feet. "On one occasion, one of us found something the rest originally dismissed as nonsense. Until we actually realized their might be an explanation, and became competitive over determining which of our ideas was the truth."

"You see, he had found two human beings, living centuries apart, who had the exact same DNA. And I mean exactly. After our first reactions that he was trying to put one over on us, we began to consider how it might be possible. Cloning from and old genetic sample was the Rani's theory, the Master...it doesn't matter."

"So, we all got together, seven of us, and verified the facts for ourselves. We collected DNA from both of his subjects.." The Doctor grinned faintly, "But not without collecting a few bruises in return! And we confirmed his conclusions, as well as ruling out cloning. And something else, which really piqued our interest. It seems that the future version of the subject had DNA that could never have been the result of her supposed parents' conceiving her. So, we verified that she had been born to them, by observing her birth."

"And her conception?" The Leader asked neutrally.

"Er, no, that wasn't necessary! You see, neither parent could have been her genetic parents, it was not a case of infidelity, or scientific experimentation, we verified that, as well! Now we were all really obsessed with the puzzle, to differing degrees. We began to search for other 'copies' of her. We developed a scanner that could sort through the DNA of billions of sentient in a day at range, which turned out to be quite a strain on the early model TARDIS!"

He'd started rocking back and forth on his heels, looking upwards now at the stars beginning to shine above. "We found three more of 'her' before deciding that was enough instances to rpove the point, and discovered a second individual who also appeared to recur in humanity's history. We had seen her with the first individual at her earliest appearance, which we determined was her original self, and now they crossed paths centuries in the future. So, after more sample collecting, also with a price paid in pain, we verified that the phenomena had indeed occurred twice."

"Though we searched, we couldn't find the cause, the reason. And eventually some of us tired of it, while other pressed on. And found the third and last such individual, yet another female human with multiple presences in time. Or multiple incarnations. All three shared the same anomaly of being born to parents who didn't match their DNA. That sometimes led to some unpleasantness, unfortunately!"

"The individuals in question being Kimberly Anne Possible, Ana Black/Shego, and Charlene Ward/Charley Cob." The Leader made it a statement, not a question. "And it turned out to have been your fault?" He added after a brief hesitation.

The Doctor chuckled quietly. Then he looked at the Leader, a sad smile on his face. "At one time I was beginning to resent that accusation being leveled at me as often as it was, but finding out the answer to our old mystery ended that, because I then thought it about myself!"

He cocked his head briefly to listen to an owl somewhere down in the little hollow behind them, where he'd parked his TARDIS. Then he returned his attention to the Leader. "We never found our answer then because it was tucked away in a parallel existence, or perhaps because it represented our own future. Or both, perhaps...or neither!"

"Anyway, it was that explosion the Valeyard caused in that other world, the one I improvised a hasty containment field for. Those three were inside the blast, and I would have thought they'd have died from it! But afterward, while I trying to trace the Valeyard's escape into the past and deriding myself for failing and causing their deaths, it struck me that I now might have part of that old answer, how it started!"

He now began to pace restlessly. "It didn't answer how they keep appearing, however! I've beaten my brain ever since, but nothing but the vaguest notions result." He shrugged his shoulders resignedly "Maybe Rassillon himself could have sorted it out!"

"Maybe he already knew the answer." The Leader suggested enigmatically, then shifted to a question. "So, the memories you gave Charlene Ward were actually her own, in a way?" he then asked, "Those of one of her future selves, that is?"

The first suggestion, if it was one, actually startled the Doctor for a moment, causing him to slip deep into thought for a minute, before literally shaking himself out of it. "Perhaps, who knows?" He replied noncommittally. "About Rassillon, I mean!" he clarified, "As to Charley, I made an error there, a potentially serious one. I knew Charley Cob, the future version, and I admit I saw no sign of the mental strain she was under, nor did I ever hear of her having emotional problems like those that befell this Charley. Perhaps no such problems ever occured in the future, this Charley may have succumbed..." He sighed, "It doesn't matter now, it's done. And it's rather hard to define her relationship to the donor of those memories. Even with all they had in common, Such as three other girls who bonded with her, including a set of twins, though not blond. And several A.I.s who somehow found themselves 'with' her again. Or why Kim Possible, in all those future instances, seems to bond at a young age with a young man in a friendship that only death can end, if that. The physical appearance of these other humans is never the same, but..."

"Perhaps their souls are?" the Leader finished for him after he trailed off. But no response was forthcoming.

The Doctor was silent again for a long period. Then he fished out his watch and studied it. "I have to be going, I have to attend an execution...of a one-time friend." He announced quietly.

Not having an answer to that, the Leader eventually nodded. "Safe Journeys, Doctor, and remember you will always be a friend to the Ar'Ithane." Without waiting for a reply, he faded from sight.

The Time Lord stood alone upon the hill for several long moments, before turning to contemplate the distant house. Then he spoke softly. "Goodbye, Kimberly Anne Possible. I seem to have given you a form of immortality, if you had not already possessed one."

With that he turned and walked into the darkness towards his TARDIS without a single look back. But then, he had gotten very good at that...

And that, hopefully, is that. I want to thank all those who ever offered reviews for this story, or parts of it. Especially the long-suffering Robert Teague.


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